A Day Goes Wrong
by Jaudreylover24
Summary: Season 4 from Audrey's POV. What she's thinking and feeling during every situation during the day.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Alright so basically this is just season four being written from Audrey's POV. Hope you like it. Review please!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own 24 or any characters._

7:00-8:00 AM

I rolled over as the alarm clock rang, and Jack slowly got up from the bed. I tried falling back to sleep but instead just kept my eyes closed as I heard Jack walking to the bathroom. I heard the door close behind him and opened my eyes. I couldn't possibly fall back asleep. Today was the day. Tonight. I would tell him how hard I was falling for him.

I sighed as I sat up and pulled the covers off of me. I grabbed the skirt I planned to wear and the black bra next to it and walked sleepily to the bathroom. I pulled back the shower curtain just enough to slip inside. Jack smiled at me as I stepped towards him and wrapped my arms around him. I could tell he was just as tired from our late night last night as I was. We stayed in each other's arms for a minute before Jack kissed my head and let me go. I watched as he stepped out of the shower. I spent the rest of my shower thinking of all the different ways tonight could play out. What I'm going to say. What he might say.

When I finished with my shower, I dried off and then put on the clothes I had taken in with me. I blow-dried my hair and thought about how weird today was going to be for him. He was meeting with the woman who fired him. I walked out of the bathroom deciding to ask him if he'll be okay. I thought of how to word it so that he had to answer with more than an 'I'm fine'.

"Is it going to be uncomfortable?" I asked.

"What?" Jack asked me.

"Going back to CTU? Seeing Driscoll again?" I asked.

"I don't blame her for her decision," Jack said simply.

"How can that be?" I asked. "She forced you out of CTU."

"She didn't want an ex-junkie on her staff," Jack answered. "That's not unreasonable."

I hated how hard he could be on himself. I pulled my tank top on. "You weren't a junkie. You were doing your job."

"I was addicted to heroin. It didn't matter why," Jack said.

"Do you miss your old job?" I asked, looking at myself in the mirror.

"I could've joined other agencies if I still wanted to do field work," Jack replied. I put on my lipstick as Jack continued. "But I didn't."

I stopped putting on the lipstick, and Jack walked over to me. "I wanted something different for my life."

He bent down to kiss my shoulder and my heart melted a little. I turned around to kiss him, his hands holding my face to his. When he stopped, he brought his lips to my forehead and kissed it gently. He put his forehead to mine. "I know it may not seem like a lot to you. But, for me, to be able to have this kind of a connection with someone, I couldn't have that before."

He was wrong. It does mean a lot to me. I'm so in love with him. I smiled. "I'm glad you can now."

We kissed again and I realized that there's no way I'm ever going to let him go. But then I remembered work and pulled back smiling. "You better go."

He kissed my forehead again. "Yeah," he said stepping away.

"Secretary Heller's going to be in the lobby in five minutes," I told him.

Jack walked towards the door. "Secretary Heller?"

"I called him dad once in a press conference so I decided then and there to use his title all the time."

Jack reached for the handle but turned back instead. "Audrey."

I looked up. He continued, "Your father's a very perceptive man. I would like to tell him about us before he finds out on his own."

I thought of how I could explain it. "Look, my father is very old fashioned. Even though Paul and I are separated, he-he still considers us married."

"I understand that," Jack said, walking towards me. "And, I don't want your father to draw the wrong conclusion and think that I had anything to do with the break-up between you and Paul."

"Yeah, but you didn't," I said, meeting up with him. "Please Jack, let's just give it a little more time."

I didn't plan to say it right then, but my heart was screaming at me to just do it and stop worrying about it. It took only a split second to decide and then I started.

"Look, I'm going to tell you something and I don't want you to panic," I said. This was it. "I'm falling in love with you. I don't want you to say anything and I don't need you to feel the same way. I just wanted you to know."

There. I said it. Jack didn't say anything. Then he stepped away. "I will see you downstairs."

I watched him leave slowly. I played back what I said to him in my head, trying to decide if I said something wrong. If Jack loved me, he would have said it back even though I told him not to, right? But, I knew Jack had a hard time with these kinds of things. We'd only been dating for six months. I tried making as many excuses as I could for him but I really couldn't stand not knowing what he was thinking when I told him.

I tried to put it out of my thoughts and finish getting ready. I went to the bathroom and put up my hair. I grabbed the jacket to match my skirt and put it on. I looked at the time. Too early to go downstairs. I picked up my phone and saw three missed calls, all from my father. I never even heard it ring.

I looked at the clock again deciding to go downstairs now. When I got there my dad was on the phone sitting next to Jack. I approached them and nodded my head towards the entrance to the hotel, telling them we should go.

They followed me out, my dad still on the phone. When we get to the limo, he hangs up. "32 dead."

"What's the initial assessment?" Jack asked.

"An act of terrorism," my father said. "When you get to CTU, I want you to find out all the details and call me."

"Yes sir," Jack said.

"And, listen," dad said, now speaking to both of us. "I don't want anybody except the two of you to know about this meeting with Richard."

I nod. "Of course."

I see the stress relieve from his face a little. "I tried calling you last night, where were you?"

"I had dinner with a friend," I said, which wasn't a total lie.

"Oh, anyone I know?" he asked.

"No," I said. He seems to except it.

"Jack."

"Sir," Jack said, as a goodbye. My dad got into the limo and I relax a little. I look over to Jack.

"I'll call you when I get to CTU," he said, with a slight smile. I got into the limo making sure that my face was neutral. The cars drove away, one after another. For a couple minutes, we didn't say anything. All I could think about was whether or not he knew about Jack and me. My cell phone rang and I answered it.

"Hi, this is Max Collins," the voice on the other line said.

"What can I do for you?" I asked.

"I was wondering how long Secretary Heller was going to be pushed back today," Max said.

"Uh, I don't know, Max. Let me find out," I told him. I brought the phone away from my ear. "I'm on with the representative from Vandenberg. He wants to know how long your going to be pushed back today."

"Don't change anything with Vandenberg," my dad told me.

I put the phone back. "We'll stick to the original schedule."

I said a short goodbye and hung up.

"Have you spoken to your brother?" dad asked me.

"No, I don't even think he knows I'm coming with you today," I said. I hadn't talked to Richard in a while.

"It's probably best that he doesn't," he said.

"Alright. I'll stay in the car," I told him. I was going to leave it at that but I didn't. "Dad, look, even if Richard does go to the protest in Lockheed, it's not the end of the world. It's not a page one story."

"That's not the point," he said. "It's an embarrassment to me and to the President."

I thought for a second. "What are you going to say to him?"

"I have no idea," he said.

"The thing that gets to me is he doesn't even know the first thing about the politics of all this. He's just doing this to rebel against you."

"When did I become the enemy? What did I do?" dad asked. I knew he hated that he and Richard don't get along.

"Nothing," I said. "Richard's acting like a spoiled child. He's going to have to grow up someday."

My father sighed and my phone rang. "Audrey Raines."

"The President for Secretary Heller," the other voice said. I handed the phone to my father. "It's the President's office."

I listened in as they talked about the train bombing and that we had to be prepared for other possible attacks. When he hung up, I took the phone. We arrived at my brother's house only five minutes later.

"Remember, dad, we're on a tight schedule today," I told him as he passed my window and walked towards the house.

My phone rang almost immediately after my father stepped inside, leaving me no time to wonder what was going to be said between my dad and Richard.

I saw the caller I.D. and smiled. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," Jack said.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be in your meeting with Driscoll?" I asked. Not that I cared because I got to talk to him.

"Yeah she had to step away. Listen, CTU's just picked up a prime suspect in the train bombing. They're bringing him in for questioning now."

"Yeah my father's still in with Richard," I said.

"That's alright. I'll brief him later," Jack said. I wondered why he was calling. He knew my father would be with Richard. He could have told me this at the same time as my father. "I just wanted to let you know."

"Alright. That's good news," I said.

"Yeah yeah I think so," Jack said.

"Alright. I'll talk to you later?" I asked.

"Wait, wait," Jack said.

"What is it?" I asked. God, he was acting weird.

"Look, about earlier," Jack started. I brought my hand to my face wishing that I had never said what I did this morning. "I don't want you to think that made me uncomfortable. It's just that since Teri died, I-I never thought I'd-"

"Jack," I interrupted. "It's alright. I understand."

And, I did. I wanted him to love me back but I couldn't force him to. He was still trying to get over Teri. He had loved her. He watched her die.

"No," Jack argued. "No, you don't. I just want you to know that I'm falling in love with you too."

I totally wasn't expecting that. I tried to not sound overly excited, but I was so happy. "Wow. You caught me off guard."

"Yeah sorry about that," Jack said. We didn't say anything for a couple seconds, but I knew that anyone looking into the car right now would see me smiling like a complete idiot.

"Look, Driscoll's coming back," Jack said. "I got to go."

"Then go," I said.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later when I get a break," Jack said.

"Alright," I said. I hung up knowing that I could've just stayed on the phone with him all day if I could.

I thought back to when I first met Jack, never once thinking that the man standing in front of me would ever make me this happy.

Her phone rang again. "Hello?"

"Audrey. It's Paul," said the caller.

"What do you want, Paul?" Audrey asked. He always knew how to ruin a perfect day.

"I want to know when I'll get to see you again," Paul asked.

"I don't know," I told him.

"You could come home for dinner tonight," Paul suggested.

"I'm in L.A., Paul," I said.

"Tomorrow then," Paul said. I could tell he was getting irritated.

I took a deep breath. "I want a divorce."

"No," Paul said. "Not yet. Let's just wait a little longer."

"No, Paul. I don't want to wait. I'm going to call my lawyer as soon as we get back to D.C. We're going to get this divorce process moving."

"You said we were going to take a year apart and see what happens," Paul said.

"It's almost been a year. I don't want to wait any longer," I told him. He didn't respond. My phone made the call waiting noise. "Hold on."

I looked down at the caller I.D. "I have to take this call. Alright, we'll talk when I get back to D.C."

"Yeah fine," Paul said. I said goodbye and hung up with him. I switched over to the other call. "Jack."

"Hey. I need to speak to your father," Jack said.

"He's still in with Richard. He doesn't want to be interrupted."

"This is important. I need clearance so I can interrogate the suspect in the train bombing. Driscoll won't let me anywhere near him. I believe he information about a secondary hit. A larger one. It's supposed to take place this morning at eight o'clock."

I looked at my watch. "Well, it's almost eight now."

"I know. That's why I have to speak with him."

"Hang on." I got out of the car and walked up to the house. I opened the door. Something bad had obviously just been said because both men were silent.

"What is it Audrey?" dad asked me.

"Sorry, it's Jack. It's urgent," I said.

"Excuse me, Richard," dad said before walking outside.

"What could be more important than intimidating me?" Richard yelled at him as he left. "I didn't know you were hiding in the car."

"Richie, why are you doing this to dad?" I asked. "Can't you just back off."

"I'm doing anything to him," Richard said.

"You know that if you go to that protest at Lockheed, it's going to hurt him."

"Whatever it takes to stop what he's doing," Richard said. I shook my head at him. I really don't know where we went wrong with him.

The phone rang and I answered. It was the President calling again. I walked outside and told my father. I gave the phone to him. He told Jack that the President was on the phone and that he'd see Jack at Vandenberg.

Not even a minute later, Jack was calling my phone again. I ignored it and answered my father's question about which meetings we could move in order to get back to D.C. tonight. I finally answered.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Audrey, it's Jack," Jack said. He sounded worried. "Are you still at Richard's?"

"Yeah," I told him.

"You need to get your father out of there now," Jack said. "The bombing this morning was a diversion. Your father's the real target. You've got to get out of there now!"

"The target?" I said questioningly.

"Audrey," I heard Jack say before I lowered the phone.

"Oh my god," I said right before I heard an explosion behind us. We got on the ground and I could hear shooting. The men with guns were yelling at us to get on our feet and instead picked us up and dragged us away. I screamed and yelled for Jack. We were thrown into a van, gagged, and blindfolded. I couldn't believe this was happening. I had been having a great morning. And, now this. I have a horrible feeling: This is going to be the day I die. And, I can't let that happen. Jack would hate me if I let that happen.


	2. Chapter 2

___Disclaimer: I do not own 24 or any characters._

Chapter 2

8:00AM-9:00AM

The van stopped, and we were moved to what I guessed to be another van. I tried to relax but it wasn't easy. I found myself thinking of Jack, which helped a lot.

_We had been working for hours and all I wanted to do was sleep. It was almost midnight._

"_You should go. I can finish this," Jack said for the hundredth time._

"_I'm fine," I said, trying really hard not to yawn at that exact moment. I would have left but I liked staying late to finish up my work. Especially when Jack was there. We worked so well together. And, I liked talking to him. During the day, Jack was strictly business but then again so was I. At night, we relaxed and talked. It was nice._

"_You're stubborn," Jack said._

"_And you aren't?" I asked. _

_Jack smiled. "Maybe a little."_

_I smiled and looked back at the papers. The next thing I knew I was in the front seat of a car._

"_Where am I?" I asked._

"_My car," Jack answered._

"_Do you always kidnap women when they fall asleep?" I asked, smiling._

"_Just the pretty ones," Jack joked._

_I smiled at the compliment. "Where are we going?"_

"_I was going to take you to my apartment if you didn't wake up. But, I can take you home now."_

_I looked out the window but had no idea where we were. "Your place is fine."_

"_Okay," Jack said. "You're a really sound sleeper."_

"_What do you mean?" I asked._

"_Well, I carried you out of the building and to my car. And then drove away," Jack said. "And, you didn't wake up."_

"_Oh," I said. He had carried me. I wished I remembered it. We stopped and got out. I was so tired I wasn't sure if I could hold myself up. Jack walked over to me, and I used him to balance myself. When we got up to his apartment, I sat on the couch._

"_You can take the bed if you want," Jack said._

"_Here's good," I said, not wanting to move anymore._

"_Okay," Jack said. He turned towards the bedroom. "I'll bring you a pillow and a blanket."_

_When he came back, I took the pillow and blanket. Then I did something that surprised myself. I reached my hand up to Jack's face and pulled it down to mine. I kissed him gently on the lips._

"_Thank you," I said. I laid down and fell asleep._

I was snapped out of my memory when the van took a sharp turn and came to a stop. I tried freeing myself from the men who pulled me out of the van. They forced me onto my knees and took off the blindfold and gag. My dad was next to me.

"What are they going to do to us?" I asked him.

"I don't know. But, if they wanted me dead they would've killed me at Richard's house," he answered. "Richard. God."

"He was still in the house. I don't think they went in there," I tried to assure him.

"Listen to me, Audie. No matter what happens to me, they have no reason to hurt you."

"They don't need a reason," I told him.

"And, I don't want you to give them one. Do what they say. No matter what happens to me, don't provoke them. If they threaten me. If they hurt me. Even if they kill me. Do what they say," he said.

A man came in front of us. "I only asked for Heller."

I looked up at him. Another man answered, "I didn't want to kill her without your permission."

The men give each other acknowledging looks. Two men lifted me up and started carrying me away. I started screaming for my dad and he yelled at them. One man got his gun ready and aimed it at me. We continued to scream until the man who was obviously in charge stepped forward. The gun was aimed right at my head.

"Not yet," he said. I feel an overwhelming bit of relief when the man with the gun takes the gun away. "Maybe we can use her. Take them away."

We were taken further into the building. We were thrown into a room with a fence around it. I stood up against the fence. I had never been so scared in my entire life. My dad was standing on the other side of the fence. I wondered what they wanted from him.

"We'll be fine, Audie," he said. Yeah, right. That's what everyone says right before they know their going to die. "We're still on U.S. soil."

"That's not going to help us if this is some sort of suicide mission," I said walking to the back of the cell. I didn't want him to see how scared I was.

"You said Jack tried to warn you about this before they grabbed us," dad said.

"Yeah," I told him, turning around to face him. "That's right."

Thanks for reminding me that Jack probably thinks I'm dead.

"That means he must have a reliable source which means our chances are good," he said.

I didn't say anything. I stared out at the men guarding the cell. My dad came behind me and grabbed my arm. "Audie, sit down."

I sat down and he started to talk. "I am your father. Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do," I said. I could feel tears forming in my eyes.

"Then listen. You cannot allow a negative thought to enter your head now. They will find us. We will be rescued. Say it."

"Please, dad, don't," I said. I wasn't going to get my hopes up.

He continued. "We will be rescued. Say it, Audie."

"We will be rescued," I finally said. He repeated it again and stood up. He kissed my forehead right before a door opened. We stood up as a few men came to unlock the door.

"Take off your clothes," the man said to my father.

"You first," dad said. The man repeated his order. My dad took the tie that had been hanging around his neck and started to fold it. When it is folded into a small roll he threw it at the man. "Go to hell."

The man nodded towards his men, and they walk towards him. One man holds me back as the other two ripped off my father's jacket. When they've finished, they let me go but brought my father away. I walked back over to the fence thinking of how wrong my father was. Just because Jack warned us about this, didn't mean he knew who had us or why or most importantly where. All I could think about was how badly I hoped my dad was okay and how much I wanted to be with Jack right now.


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own 24 or any characters._

Chapter 3

9:00 AM-10:00 AM

It felt like my father had been gone for hours. It was probably only ten minutes. I was pacing back and forth. I saw him coming back. He was in an orange suit-like a prisoner.

"Dad. Are you okay?" I asked as he walked towards the cell with a handful of men surrounding him. He nodded. They let him into the cell. "Did they hurt you?"

"No. They just wanted me present when they broadcast an announcement," he said. "They're going to put me on trial."

"For what?" I asked. I was confused. What did they want?

"Crimes against humanity," he answered.

"That's ridiculous. When?" I asked.

"Less than three hours," he said. He turned around and kicked over some sort of barrel.

"Dad, I'm sure Jack and the President are doing everything they can to find us. Maybe they'll get here before then," I said, trying to stay optimistic.

"I can deal with anything these bastards have got for me," he said. "I wish you hadn't come this morning."

The door opened again, and the man who was probably in charge walked in. "This is a list of the offenses you are being charged with."

He handed the papers to my father. "Sign it."

"I'm a senior member of the United States government. I'm not signing it," he said. He dropped the papers to the floor.

"Then you will die, Mr. Secretary," the man said. My father's face stayed neutral. "Pick up the document and sign it."

He didn't move and the man pointed to me. The two men next to me grabbed me and slammed me against the fence. My dad was yelling at them to leave me alone. The man took out a knife and held it to my throat.

My dad gave in. "Alright, alright, I'll sign it."

"Pick up the document," the man said. My dad shrugged away the men who were holding him back. The man yelled at him again to pick it up. He did and signed it. The man still holding me let me go. All the men left the room and once again I found myself pacing the cell. I tried thinking of anything else to help me relax.

_The day after I slept at Jack's, my father told us that we would be going to Philadelphia for business. We left the next morning in my dad's private plane. I sat next to Jack and my father sat across from us. We talked about our schedule for the day. After that it was silent. I noticed that Jack hadn't looked at me once today and I felt stupid for kissing him two nights ago. I thought he liked me too. When we landed we got into a limo where once again I was sitting next to Jack. We stopped at our first destination._

"_You two can stay here," he said. "This will only take a minute."_

_He got out of the car, and Jack and I were left in silence. I hated it._

"_I'm sorry," I said._

"_For what?" Jack asked, confused._

"_Kissing you," I said. "I-I hope I didn't make things weird between us."_

"_You didn't," Jack said._

"_Okay good," I said._

"_Was it just because you were tired?" he asked._

_ "What?" I asked, not because I didn't understand the question but because I didn't want him to know that I had wanted to kiss him for a while now. He asked the question again._

_ "No," I said, letting him think what he wanted. Then he leaned over and kissed me. I wasn't expecting that. I was trying to figure what to say kind of hoping he would say something first. But, he just smiled at me slightly._

_ "You didn't just do that because I kissed you first?" I asked._

_ "No," he said._

_ "Good."_

I was sitting down now and my father came and sat down next to me. "When the trial begins you may have an opportunity to escape. You have to take it. Even if it's dangerous."

"Maybe we'll have a chance before then," I said.

He shook his head. "They're never going to take their eyes off of me. It has to be when their attention is on the trial."

The thought of leaving him here to die makes me feel sick. "I don't want get out of here without-"

"Forget about me," he said. "You have to take every chance. Promise me."

"Dad, I-I can't," I said, tears start to fall from my eyes.

"You can, you can," he said, hugging me. "I want you to live your life. A full life. I want you to have a family."

I'm crying hard now. He continued, "That's all I care about. You're my baby."

"I can't do it," I said.

"Yes, you can. You can do it," he said. He sounded so sure. He held me as I cried and I felt like a little kid again. I cried for another five minutes before pulling away from my dad and wiping my eyes.

"Better?" he asked.

"Not really," I said.

"You'll be okay," he said. I considered telling him about my relationship with Jack seeing as how we could both die today. But, I decided against it. If he didn't like the idea of us being together, I didn't want to die with him being mad at me. If he was happy, I would feel bad about making him feel guilty if they kill me.

Instead we just sit in silence.


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I do not own 24 or any characters._

Chapter 4

10:00AM-11:00AM

"Audie," my dad said quietly. I looked at him and he gave me a look as if to say come closer. I moved towards him. "I have an idea."

"What?" I asked. He started telling me about how he was going to get the guard to open the door by faking a heart attack. I would bring up the heart condition and he would do the rest.

He didn't even acknowledge us until my dad said, "Let my daughter go. You don't need her."

"She has already been useful," the man said.

"Please, I'll do whatever you want," dad said, trying to sound in control when really he was desperate.

"I know you will. That's why we are keeping her," the man said.

"I don't care if you kill me but if you kill her even your own people will see you as a barbaric pig," dad said. The man turned around and left. Dad yelled as the man leaves, "Is this what your religion teaches you?"

I walked up to him. "Dad, dad, calm down. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he said.

"Where's your medication?" I asked. "Your nitro-glycerin. Where is it?"

"I left it in the car," he said, stepping away from the fence.

I turned to the guard outside the cell. "My dad has a heart condition. He needs his medication."

The guard ignores me. I looked back at my father, wondering what to do next. He gave me a look that said 'forget it for now'. We sat for a couple minutes before my father stood back up and went to the fence again.

"I want to know who's in charge here," he said. "I want to speak to the man who was just in here."

"You'll speak to him later," the guard said.

"No now," he yelled. "I am the Secretary of Defense of the United States of America. You will listen to me."

"Dad, don't make it worse," I said standing up.

"What do you mean worse?" he snapped. "What could be worse than waiting around here to be murdered by a bunch of lawless godless thugs?"

"Dad, calm down," I said.

"I don't want to calm down! Don't tell me to calm down."

"What's the point? We're here. The best we can do is keep our heads and hope that someone comes and-"

"Hope?" he asked angrily. God, this better work. "Hope that we get rescued? We have to do something. We have to take-"

He screamed out in pain as he clutched his heart. Perfect.

"Dad, what is it? What's happening?" I asked. He dropped to the ground. "Take a deep breath, take a deep breath."

The guard was on his walkie-talkie and I yelled to him. "Help me, please. I think he's having a heart attack."

I pretended to panic over my father, and the guard unlocked the door. He said, "Step back. Step away from him."

I did and the guard pulled out a gun and pointed it at me. I yelled at the guard and right when he looked at me and told me to step away again, my father wrapped his arm around the guard's neck.

"Go, get out of here," dad yelled to me. I ran out of the cell a grabbed some sort of tool off the table outside. I ran back in and hit the man in the stomach. As the guard dropped to the ground, I picked up the gun and gave it to my dad. We started running down the hallways.

When a man came around the corner, my dad shot him without hesitation. My dad grabbed the man's gun instead and we continued down the hall.

"You still with me?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said. I followed him around the corner. He killed another man but then there were several in front of us.

"Go back, go back," he said, but it was too late. There were men with guns all around us.

The man in charge came out. "Put your weapon down. Slowly."

My dad listened knowing there was nothing he could do.

"Both of you," the man said. "Hands on your head."

We did what he said.

"If another one of my men dies, your daughter will be killed," the man finished. We were taken away to the room.

"It was worth a shot," dad said when we were left alone.

"Now what?" I asked.

"We wait," he said. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I asked.

"This isn't about you. You shouldn't be here," he said.

"That's not your fault," I said.

"Doesn't make it any better," he said. We went silent again and kept to ourselves.

I thought about what Jack could be doing right now. Was he working with CTU to find us? Was he giving up? Was he thinking about me as much as I was thinking about him?

God I hoped not. Thinking about the person you love when you know you're going to die is torture. But, I'm sure it's worse to be thinking about the person you love when you know they're going to die.


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I do not own 24 or any characters._

Chapter 5

11:00AM-12:00PM

The guards came in and moved us out of the cell. We were moved to a cell, this time with no fence. We were put into chairs back to back and our wrists were tied together. There was a small sliding panel on the door that allowed the guards to check in on us every couple minutes. One guard came by, opened it and then closed it.

"Dad," I said. "You did what anyone else would've done in your position."

"I embarrassed my country," he said.

"You signed a piece of paper," I said. "All lies. Everyone will know that you signed it under duress."

"It's more than a piece of paper," he said. "This trial is going to be a spectacle broadcasted all over the world, designed to humiliate and degrade this country."

"Dad, there's still time," I said, even though we had already talked about how this is over.

"There's no sense in deluding ourselves, there's less than an hour," he said. "If we're going to do anything, we're going to have to do it now."

"We've done everything that we can," I said.

"Not quite."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"What if I'm not alive?" he said. "They can't put me on trial. If I'm dead their goals go right out the window. And, they'll be viewed as nothing but common assassins."

"Dad," I said.

"Listen to me," he said. "Even if I say what they want me to say, they're not going to let me go. They're going to put me in front of a camera, humiliate me, and then they're going to kill me with the whole world watching."

I tried to give him hope. But, I knew it was pointless. "There are people on the outside looking for us. You cannot give up."

"I have to do something while I still can," he said. "And, I need you to help me."

"Help you?" I asked.

"The chain between your handcuffs, see if you can get it up and around my neck."

"No, no," I said, starting to cry.

"I can't do it myself. I don't have any leverage," he said. "But, you can pull from back there."

I tell him no. He continued to push me. "I'm counting on you to help me. Give it a try-"

"Stop it! Stop it!" I yelled. I'm crying now. "I won't do it, dad."

I put my head on his shoulder hoping that he understands. I whispered, "I'm sorry."

I looked up and saw a box on the wall. It led to a pipe.

"There's a gas pipe," I said. "If we could break it."

"No," he said. "Break that and you die too."

"Do you think they're going to let me out of here alive? Do you?" I asked. "They're going to kill me too. Dad. Together we can do this. We can do it. Okay?"

He didn't answer. "Please."

"Let's try it," he said, finally.

We started moving our chairs to the wall. I put my feet on the wall then slide off my heels. I put the chain from around my ankles on the nozzle.

"You ready?" I asked.

"Yep," he said. I pulled on the nozzle and broke it off.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too, Audie," he said. I close my eyes. I'm so sorry Jack. I love you. Please forgive me.

_It was late when we finally got home from Philadelphia. The limo dropped Jack and me at the office so we could get our cars and my dad went back to his place. Jack and I walked together to our cars._

_ "I'm going to get a drink," I said. "You want to come?"_

_ "You're not going to fall asleep on me?" Jack asked._

_ "Depends how bored you make me," I said. _

_Jack smiled. "I'll try not to."_

_Jack followed me to the bar five minutes away. We ordered our drinks and talked for an hour. Which became two hours. Then we finally decided it would be smart to leave. But, then we stayed for another hour._

"_We really should go," Jack said._

_ "I know," I said. Neither of us moved._

_ "We should do this again," he said. I nodded. "Like tomorrow? But, at a restaurant."_

_ He looked so nervous when he said it and I thought it was the sweetest thing in the world._

_ "Like a date?" I asked._

_ "Yeah," he said. "Or not. If you don't want it to be."_

_ I laughed. "Tomorrow after work."_

_ "Okay," he said. I stood up and he followed me out to my car. I could tell he was thinking about whether or not I wanted it to be a date or not. I'd let him figure it out._

I woke up outside the cell on the ground. As I looked up I saw a man that hadn't been with us before. But, I knew him. He looked so familiar.

"I know you," I said.

The familiar man talked to the man in charge. "She recognized me. She has to be killed."

"She will," the man in charge said. "In good time. Go do your job. Go."

Where had I seen him? Who was he?

They took me to a cell and took my father away. Considering how long we'd been there, they must be doing the trial now.


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I do not own 24 or any characters._

Chapter 6

12:00PM-1:00PM

The cell I was in now had a small cage in the back to see out from. I was on the opposite end watching the trial through the slit in the door along with the guard outside.

"You have to stop this please," I begged. "My father hasn't done anything to hurt you. He's an innocent man, please."

I pleaded some more before the guard closed the panel on the door. I saw a light coming from the back. I turned around just as I heard him.

"Audrey," Jack said. "Behind you."

"Oh Jack," I said. I went to the small cage and put my fingers through it.

"Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" Jack asked.

"I'm okay," I told him. "You've got to stop them."

"I will," he said. I believed him.

"Get my father first," I said. I could tell he didn't want to leave me here. "Go."

He finally seemed to agree and handed me something through the cage. "Take this."

I grabbed it. When I had it, Jack continued. "Press the button on the handle."

I did and a knife shot out.

"You use that if you have to," he said. "I'll be back for you. I promise."

He put his hand up to mine and then left. I said his name out loud, relieved that he was actually here. That relief was short lived when I heard shooting down the hall. Then the man in charge came into the cell and pulled me out of it. He had a gun and held it to my head as he told me where to go. I was yelling for Jack hoping he was around and could hear me. The man opened the door leading outside where I finally saw Jack.

Jack was yelling for the man to put the gun down and the man was yelling at Jack to do the same.

The man finally said, "I'll kill her. I will kill her. Do it."

"Okay," Jack said, putting down the gun. My father did the same. "Audrey, stay calm. Just relax."

I started to pull the knife that Jack had given me out and hoped the man wouldn't notice.

"This is over," Jack said. "You are surrounded."

"You're right," the man said. "But, first you'll watch her die."

I pushed the button to release the blade of the knife and stabbed it into his leg. I dropped to the ground so the man could be shot. My dad and Jack came around the wooden blocks that had separated us.

My dad helped me off the ground and Jack went over to the man. My dad hugged me. I looked over my shoulder at Jack who was seeing if the man was dead. It was over. Jack finally looked up at me and I smiled at him just enough so he knew how grateful I was that he had found us. He sat back against the building behind him and I could tell he was relieved that we were okay.

My dad let me go and Jack came over to us. "The paramedics will be here in a minute. They're going to make sure you're okay."

"Thanks, Jack," my dad said. Jack led us to where they were.

An agent approached us as we walked to where the paramedics would be. He handed my father a cell phone. It was the President. A paramedic came up to me and I went with her to be examined. Once the lady finished, I saw Jack coming towards me.

"How's she doing?" he asked, directing his question to the lady instead of me. He knew I'd say I was fine.

"Doctor needs to check out some of these contusions and she's dehydrated," they paramedic said. She walked away once Jack thanked her.

"We should go," Jack said.

"Where?" I asked.

"I'm taking you and your father back to CTU," he said.

"Jack, when I was inside I recognized one of the men," I told him.

"Who?" he asked.

"I don't know. I-I can't place him," I said. "But, I know I saw him before today."

"They're going to correlate a file of all the casualties. As soon as they've got that, you can make your I.D," Jack said. His phone rang and he excused himself. He was looking at me as he listened to the person on the other end.

He tells the person to hold on. "It's Paul. He wants to speak with you."

I took the phone from him reluctantly. I really didn't want to talk to him right now. I stood up. "Paul."

"Audrey," Paul said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said. Jack was standing a few feet away, trying to give me some space.

"Oh thank god," he said.

"Where are you?" I asked.

"As soon as I heard about you and your father I got on a plane," he told me.

"You're in L.A?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm at CTU," he said. Oh god. This is going to be horrible. "Audrey?"

"Yeah," I said.

"See you soon," Paul said.

"I'll see you soon," I said. I shut the phone and gave it back to Jack.

"We need to go," Jack said. "You alright?"

No. I want you to hold me and kiss me and never let me go. And, I don't want to see Paul today. "Mhm."

"Okay," he said. I started walking towards the choppers but stopped when Jack's hands and mine met. I don't know who grabbed whose hand but I held his tightly and leaned into him a little before walking away.

We got on the chopper a minute later. I sat in between Jack and my father. Everyone was silent. I leaned just enough into Jack during the ride so that my dad wouldn't notice but still enough that I felt safe and better. We got to CTU and Jack walked next to me. His hand was lightly touching my back and I wondered if my dad would notice.

"The man I recognized at the warehouse. I want to make that I.D," I told him.

"As soon as you've been checkout by the clinic," Jack said. "I'll get the photos ready."

A worker came up to us. "Excuse me, Ms. Raines, this way please."

"It's alright, go ahead," Jack said. I started to follow the lady but stopped when I heard Paul's voice. He was talking on the phone. Why was he here? I had told him over the phone this morning that I wanted a divorce. Things hadn't changed since I was kidnapped. I turned around and walked with the lady who was taking me to the clinic. I was stopped again, this time by my father.

"Does he know?" my father asked. I didn't know what he was talking about but I saw Paul talking on his cell phone and figured it was about him. "About you and Jack."

"How long have you known?" I asked.

"Not until today," he said. "Although, I'm surprised I hadn't figured it out till now."

"It's not what you think," I said. "Paul and I were over before Jack and I started seeing each other."

"Except Paul doesn't think it's over," he said. "Last time I spoke with him, he thought he had a second chance."

"Yeah, well that's more about fixing his wounded pride than fixing this relationship," I said.

"So he doesn't know about it?" dad asked again.

"Not yet," I said. My dad looked at me until I gave in. "I'll take care of it."

He walked away and I looked over to Jack who was looking at me already. He must realize what we were talking about. The woman from before came to me again and brought me to the clinic. The doctor came in and introduced herself. I took off my jacket and took down my hair. The doctor examined me and I thought about how I would tell Paul about Jack. I knew I had to. I loved Jack. And, I wanted a divorce. Maybe if I told him he'd actually give it to me without too much of a fight. Or maybe he'd never give me a divorce. God, I hated this. I felt bad. Paul had come all this way to make sure I was okay and now I was basically telling him that this was over. The doctor put the last bandage on and Paul walked through the door.

"They said it was okay if I came in," he said.

"Hi, Paul," I said, regretfully, knowing that what I was going to say would upset him.

"Oh my god, I was so worried," he said. "Are you hurt?"

"No, just some cuts and scrapes. Nothing serious," I said. This was probably the longest conversation we've had in a while that didn't consist of yelling. Yet.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, really, I'm okay, Paul," I said. "They've okayed me for my debriefing."

He walked forward and I tilted my head back and shut my eyes knowing what was coming.

"On the flight over, I couldn't stop thinking about us. How when we separated we said we both would take time to figure out what we wanted. And, now I know."

"Paul," I said, trying to stop him. If he had said this six months ago, I would've taken him back in a heartbeat.

"I want us to be together again," he said. "I'm ready to work at it. I'll make our marriage first priority."

I try to gather my words but I just don't know how to put it.

"Just give us a chance," he said.

"I'm sorry, Paul," I said. "But, that's not what I want."

"Audrey," he started. "I'm a fool for bringing this up now. Your coming decisions about our relationship when you're in this state."

"Paul," I said. "I'm seeing someone."

He looked shocked. "Well, how long has this been going on?"

"Six months," I said.

"You love him?" Paul asked.

"Yes," I said. He looked at me sadly. The door opened and Jack walked in.

"Audrey," Jack said. Oh God. Great timing. "I'm sorry, excuse me, I'll come back later."

Jack starts to shut the door but I stop him. "No. Paul, this is Jack Bauer."

"Nice to meet you," Jack said.

"You're the one who saved Audrey's life," Paul stated, shaking Jack's hand. "Thank you."

Jack looked at me. He could tell I looked uncomfortable. "You're welcome."

"Those photos are ready for you to look at," Jack said to me.

"Okay," I said. "Um, Paul, we'll talk later?"

"Yeah," he said. He left the room. Jack walked over to me and I felt like I was going to cry.

"You're alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, even though my eyes were filling up with tears. So much had happened today. I told Jack I loved him, I was kidnapped and almost died several times, my dad found out about my relationship with Jack, and I told Paul that I was in love with someone else. And, the day wasn't even close to over.

"You ready to go?" he asked.

"Not yet," I said. I reached for Jack's face as a tear fell from my eye. He put his hand over mine. His other hand wiped away the tear right before he leaned down to kiss me. It was quick. Then he rested his head against mine while his hands held my head. "Now I am."

Jack smiled which made me smile. He wiped another tear from under my eye. And then kissed my forehead. I stood up and put my jacket back on before walking with Jack downstairs and going through the photos. None of them were the man I saw.

"You are absolutely certain you saw this guy before the compound?" Jack asked.

"Positive. I could tell that he recognized me," I said.

"Okay," Jack said. He clicked to get to the next photo.

"No," I said for the hundredth time. And then once more.

"That's all of them," Jack said.

"He must have gotten out before the rescue," I said.

"Okay, we should go through the pictures again just to be sure," Jack said.

"I will," I said. "But, there are only two men here who aren't Middle eastern and neither of them are him."

Jack leaned back against the desk. Then it hit me.

"What?" Jack asked, seeing my mind race.

"I just remembered where I saw him before," I said.

"Where?" Jack asked.

"There was a Heritage Foundation dinner two months ago at the Hyatt downtown here."

"Do you remember his name?" Jack asked.

"No, but I know somebody at the foundation. Maybe I can get a guest list," I said.

"Okay good," Jack said. A woman came over to talk to Jack about sitting in on a conference call with Driscoll. Then he told her to get in touch with the Hyatt and get video surveillance. "Audrey will give you a time and a date. Set up a parameter. Keep Driscoll informed."

Jack touched my shoulder. "I'll be right back."

He left and I told the woman what she needed to know. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do now, so I just waited for Jack to come back.


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I do not own 24 or any characters._

Chapter 7

1:00PM-2:00PM

I was looking into getting the guest list from the dinner when Jack came over to me.

"Jack, did you get the surveillance footage from the Hyatt security?" I asked.

"No, the Heritage dinner you attended was monitored by a private company, Felsted Security," Jack said. "I just got off the phone with them. They've got the videotapes on file but unfortunately they're working off a closed system. I have to go there, pick up the tapes, and bring them back here for you to ID. Where are you on the guest list?"

"I'm having it sent here," I told him.

He looked at his watch. "Yeah but we're running out of time."

Jack walked away and I followed him. "What do you mean? Is it that urgent?"

"Yes," Jack said. "As it turns out, your kidnapping was just a cover for a much larger attack. The terrorists used the broadcast to overload the internet and divert our attention from what they're really trying to do."

I tried to understand but was still confused. A larger attack?

"I need a full tactical for my vehicle," Jack said to a man behind a counter.

"Which is what?" I asked about the terrorists intentions.

"They're in possession of a stolen device called an override. With that they gained control of the 104 nuclear power plants across this country," Jack said. This day really couldn't get worse, could it? "The override device maintains heat levels within the reactors. Effectively they could melt down every one of those plants.

"Oh my god," I said. Jack grabbed a case from the man behind the counter.

"The man you saw when you were being held captive, right now he's our only lead," Jack said.

"Then let me come to Felsted Security with you and make the ID there. It will be quicker," I offered.

"Audrey," Jack started. "I can't. After what you've been through today, I'm not going to put you at risk."

In other words, I could if I wasn't your girlfriend. "You just said our nation's nuclear power plants will melt down if we don't find that override, Jack. We can't afford to waste anymore time."

Jack seemed to consider it for a second. "Come with me."

We started walking down the hall where a meeting was ending. Jack walked over to Driscoll. "Erin, we're leaving now."

"Where are you going, Jack," my father asked.

"Audrey's given us a significant lead. We need to follow it up," Jack explained.

"What kind of lead?" my dad asked.

"When we were being held, I recognized someone. He was an American. I saw him at a function here in L.A. a couple of months ago," I told him.

"We're going to view the surveillance tapes of the function at a private security company not far from here," Jack told him.

"I don't want her going out now," my dad said. Surprise, surprise. "Why can't you access the tapes here?"

"Sir, I wish we could but they're offline. They would have to record over four and half hours of material for us to view. We don't have that time," Jack explained.

"Jack told me that these people are trying to use our nuclear power plants as weapons," I said. "We have to follow this lead and we have to follow it now."

"Sir, Audrey's the only person who can make this ID," Jack said.

"If anything happens, Jack, I will hold you personally responsible," my dad warned.

"I understand," Jack said. We walked away and Jack's hand found it's way to my back to lead the way.

"How far away is this facility?" I asked.

"Not far. Burbank," Jack said.

"Audrey," Paul said, walking towards Jack and me.

"Paul," I said.

"I'll get the team set up," Jack said, leaving us alone.

"We need to talk," Paul said, once Jack left.

"We'll have to do it when I get back," I told him.

"Back? From where?" Paul asked.

"We're following up on something," I said. He was about to protest but I cut him off. "Paul, can we just do this later?"

"No," Paul said. "I want to talk now."

"Okay," I said. "I'm filing for divorce when we get back to D.C. like I said this morning."

"Look, I don't know about all of this but I know about you and him and I am not okay with it," Paul said.

"Look, you and I aren't together anymore," I said.

"I thought we were trying to work things out," he said.

"I tried. But, you kept putting it off. So, I gave up," I said. I wanted to say: And, now I'm much happier without you- but didn't. I saw Jack coming towards and I knew we had to go. "We haven't been together in over nine months. We're not trying to work out anything anymore."

Jack met up with us. "Mr. Raines, I'm sorry to interrupt."

"She is my wife," Paul said.

"Paul, please," I begged not wanting him to make a scene. I excused myself and walked away.

I'm embarrassed by the way Paul acted. Jack must be wondering what I ever saw in him. Jack grabs my arm gently. "Let's go."

"Jack, I'm sorry," I said, apologizing for Paul.

"It's fine," Jack said. We walked outside and Jack opened the door to the car for me. I got in and then Jack got on the other side. The driver started the car and left and I thought about what I could say to Jack. Nothing came to mind.

Instead I moved closer to him. Our hands found each other's and he talked quietly into my ear. "What did you say to Paul?"

I considered whether or not I should tell him. It could scare him off. "That I'm filing for divorce as soon as I get back to D.C."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" he asked.

I looked at him. How could I want anyone besides Jack? "Yes."

He looked away but looked back to say "okay". I thought I saw a small smile, which disappeared almost instantly.

We were silent for a minute but all I wanted to do was talk with him. About anything.

"In case you didn't figure it out, my dad knows about us," I said.

"I figured as much," he said. "What did he say?"

"Not much," I said. "He didn't seem mad anyway. Just upset that we didn't tell him."

Jack smiled but didn't say anything.

"Go ahead," I said. "Say I told you so."

"No, I don't need to brag," Jack said. "Because you already know I was right."

I smiled and shook my head at him. I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. We went back to silence.

A couple minutes later, my phone rang. Paul.

"Yeah, Paul," I said, not wanting to argue with him while I was sitting next to Jack.

"Audrey," he said. "Do you have a minute?"

"Sure, what's going on?" I asked.

"I talked to your dad and he said something to me that I've been thinking about a lot," Paul said. "He said you're a big girl and I think I've been treating you like a child."

"I don't think that, Paul," I said, a little confused.

"Well whether it comes off that way or not, I need to respect your choices. Respect who you are. And," Paul said. He sighed. "I've been so stupid about all of this. I've lost sight of the things I love about you."

"Look," I said. Why was he doing this to me? Just give me the divorce. "I hear what your saying but I-I don't really know how to respond to that."

"Well, you don't have to," Paul said. "I just want you to know that I've been wrong about a lot of things. And, before you make any decisions- decisions you're entitled to make- just let some time go by. Is that fair? Is that fair of me to ask?"

I thought about it for a second. I couldn't believe I was doing this. One last chance. Not that he would ever compare to Jack. But, it was my marriage I'd be throwing away and even though things hadn't been good lately, we had been happy together for a long time. "Yeah. Yeah, that's fair."

"Okay, well I'll see you later," Paul said.

"Yeah, see you later," I said. Jack looked at me and I looked back. I could tell that he realized I was giving Paul some more time to change things between us. I felt bad.

"How far out are we?" he asked the driver.

"A few miles away, sir," the driver answered.

"Okay," Jack said. We didn't talk. I knew Jack thought I was crazy for continuing to give Paul more chances. But, he didn't say anything.

Jack's phone rang just as we pulled into the parking lot. The car stopped and Jack and I got out. Jack was talking to someone about the tapes. He hung up.

"Our office just got a copy of the guest list from the dinner where you saw this guy. Once you make the ID on the surveillance tape we'll be able to send it through a database. We'll be able to find out who it is," Jack told me.

"Okay," I said. Jack's phone rang again.

"Yeah?" Jack answered. I couldn't hear the other end of the conversation. But, he was talking to someone named Maryanne.

Jack looked confused by something that she said and we stopped.

"Okay, keep me informed," Jack said before hanging up.

"What is it?" I asked.

"We don't have a lot of time," Jack said. He grabbed my arm gently and led me to a back room. It was small and there was a man sitting in front of a computer.

"You must be Jack Bauer," the man said.

"Yes," Jack said. "This is Audrey Raines. She's the one making the ID."

"Okay," the man said. He pulled up the footage from that night. "We had security cameras running only on two areas. One was covering the main ballroom and the other was covering the entrance."

"Okay, put up both of them," Jack said. The man put the footage from the different cameras on two different screens. "The ballroom angle is too wide. Let's just go with the entrance."

"What time is that?" I asked about the footage of the entrance.

"Six thirty nine," the man said.

"No, that's too early," I said. "I met him when I arrived. Around nine- nine fifteen."

The man fast-forwarded the tapes until I finally saw him. "Wait, stop."

I went around to the other side of the man to get a better angle.

"Can you back this up a few frames?" I asked.

"Sure," the man said. He did until I told him to stop.

"I think that's him," I said to Jack. "Can you him right here?"

The man did but the image was blurry. I was pretty sure it was him though.

"That image won't process we need to make it clearer," Jack said.

"Let me see if I can get that for you," the man said. The man worked on it and I looked over his shoulder.

"Who's supposed to be at that desk?" Jack asked, looking at the surveillance of the building. I kept looking at the screen with the man I had seen. Jack seemed worried by what he was looking at. He talked into a walkie-talkie to try in get in touch with the man that was supposed to be at the front desk.

"How many ways into this area of the building?" Jack asked.

"Two," the man answered.

"Put them up," Jack said. He called into the walkie-talkie again and there was still no response. The images on the screen changed as the man pulled up the videos from the exits. Two men were lying dead on the floor. Then, the door started to open and Jack yelled at me to get down. There were gunshots once the door was opened and Jack shot the two men that had come in.

"You okay?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," I said. What was going on?

"Dammit," Jack said. I looked over and saw the man that had been helping us with the video footage had been shot. Jack checked his pulse. "I'm going to call for help okay. But first I need to know where the surveillance tape is. Where's the source?"

The man was dying and I didn't understand what he was saying. But Jack apparently did because he asked him another question. He must've gotten his answer because Jack went to a computer.

"Watch the security monitors," Jack told me. Jack asked the man another question. The man was having a harder time answering. Jack downloaded the footage and tried to save the man.

"He's gone," Jack said. Two men appeared on the screen in front of me.

"Jack, they're coming," I said.

"They're trying to seal us off," Jack said.

"Shouldn't we call CTU?" I asked.

"No," Jack said. "CTU has got to be compromised that's the only way they'd of known we were here. We gotta get out of here."

Jack grabbed the flash drive with the surveillance footage on it and told me to go. We ran down the hallway until we got to corner. Jack stopped me and went around, his gun drawn and ready to fire. Nobody was there so we went down another hallway. There were doors all around us and Jack tried the handles. They were locked except for one, which we went into. Jack took the gun off of the dead man in front of the door then came and sat down next to me.

"There's one in the pipe, safety's off," Jack said handing me the gun.

I had never shot a gun in my life. And, I had never had one pointed at me until today. "Jack."

"You can do this," he said. "We'll cover each other."

I took the gun from him, not completely confident. He took out his cell phone and started dialing.

"I thought you said CTU was compromised," I said.

"It has been," Jack said.

"Then who are you calling?" I asked. We went to the door.

"The only person I can trust right now," Jack said, looking out the door to see if anyone was out there.

The person obviously answered. "It's Jack. I need your help."

Jack told the person where he was and to bring a gun. Jack hung up and we walked down the hall, Jack leading the way.

"We need to go right," Jack said when we got to the end of a hallway. Jack stopped as he saw a man in the mirror in the corner. Jack shot him and we kept moving. We ended up in a garage type place and as we walked forward the garage door lifted. Jack pushed me behind a toolbox. We waited there for a second, quietly. But then a man came through the door we had just walked through. Jack shot him, which caused the all the men to start firing at us.

"Okay, we're going to get through this but you got to listen to me. I need to get that guy's weapon. I need you to cover me. Save your ammunition. Space out your shots. You ready?" Jack asked.

No. How could he trust me to cover him? I had no idea if I had good aim or not. But, I agreed anyways knowing that there was nothing else we could do. Jack ran across the middle of the garage and I fired off a few shots hoping that I was helping. And, then I ran out of bullets.

"Audrey stay down!" Jack yelled. He ran over to me.

"I'm empty," he said. Oh god. Now what? Jack picked up the gun; ready to hit someone with it. I held onto his arm and I could sense that the men were getting closer. But before they could make it to us, shots were fired and the men went down.

"Jack," someone called out.

"Tony?" Jack asked.

"You're okay?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, we're okay," Jack said. We stood up and ran out to Tony's car.


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I do not own 24, its characters, etc._

Chapter 8

2:00PM-3:00PM

We drove away and I couldn't help but cry. If things kept going the way they had been I would definitely be dead by the end of the night. I had no idea how Jack used to work with people shooting at him everyday. At least he's done with that. Well, except for today I guess. But if we can make it through the day, we'll be okay.

"Mr. Secretary it's Jack," Jack said obviously talking to my father on the phone. "Don't let anyone know you're talking to me. We got a problem."

Jack waits before saying, "First off sir I want you to know that Audrey and I are safe but there was an attempt made on our life at Felsted Security.

"A group of assassins well-armed, well-trained took out our entire security detail. You're going to need to send a forensic unit over to identify the bodies but I don't want anyone else at CTU to know."

I can only imagine how my father is taking this. I hear Jack tell my father about his accusation of a mole at CTU. I tune out of their conversation wishing I could just go back to this morning when everything was normal. Just Jack and me. I wipe away a tear and Jack hangs up. He reached forward and touched my shoulder. I grabbed his hand.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I'm almost getting used to this," I tried to joke but Jack knew that I was just scared. I kissed his hand.

"Yeah," he said. He turned to Tony. "Tony, is it possible we could have been followed?"

"No, we're clear," Tony said.

"Where are we going?" I asked Jack.

"We need to lay low for a little while," Jack told me.

"What kind of communication you need?" Tony asked.

"A Wi-Fi and a hardline," Jack said.

"Alright, we'll go back to my place," Tony said.

"Okay," Jack said. "Thank you Tony."

"Wait till you see it before you thank me," Tony said.

"I mean for picking us up. Saving our lives," Jack said. Jack had told me a little bit about Tony. They had worked at CTU together. Tony was put in prison for treason. "I'm sure you're wondering what's going on."

"Not really," Tony said. "No."

"Something wrong?" Jack asked.

"What could be wrong?" Tony asked. "I'm not in federal prison anymore thanks to you and President Palmer. Michelle left me. You know what. Nevermind. Why don't you tell me what this is all about?"

Jack helped get him out of prison? I thought Tony would be happy about that but I guess not.

"You heard about Audrey and her father this morning?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Tony said. Jack explained to Tony why we were at Felsted Security and about the power plants.

"I thought you weren't in the field anymore Jack," Tony said.

"I'm not," Jack said. "Secretary Heller is my responsibility and I got caught up in it."

"Well, listen to me very carefully. I don't want to get caught up in it. So you do whatever you need to do at my place. I'm staying out of it. Alright?" Tony said.

"Understood," Jack said. I wish I knew why Tony had been convicted for treason. How Jack managed to get him out.

_"Jack," I asked one night when we were lying on the couch after dinner._

_ "Yeah," he answered._

_ "What do you do when you're not with me?" I asked._

_ "I'm always with you," Jack said._

_ "Not always," I said._

_ "Okay," Jack said. "I work."_

_ "That's it? You never see friends or anything? Do you even have friends?" I asked._

_ "You're my friend," Jack said._

_ "Yeah," I said. "But, I don't count."_

_ "Fine," he said. "Then no. I don't have friends."_

_ "What about in L.A.?" I asked. "In all the years you lived there, you had to have made a friend."_

_ "There was this guy Tony I used to work with that I guess you could consider my friend," Jack said._

_ "Do you ever talk to him?" I asked._

_ "Not since he went to prison," Jack said._

_ "For what?" I asked._

_ "Treason. Tried to save his wife Michelle," Jack said. "I don't see why I need anyone besides you to be my friend."_

_ "Because, I'm your girlfriend too. I mean what if we break up? Then you'll just be lonely," I said._

_ "Then, don't break up with me," Jack suggested._

_ "I promise," I said._

The car stopped and Jack got my door. I got out.

"Watch your step," Tony said. "The dog next door likes our yard."

We walked to the door and went inside.

"Just stay here," Jack said. He went down the hall and opened each door. Then, a woman came out of a door and screamed as Jack pulled out his gun and pointed it at her.

"Oh God. Who the hell are you?" The woman asked.

Tony intervened. "Jack, it's okay. This is my friend, Jen."

Jack lowered his gun.

"Tell him to play with his guns outside," the woman said. Jack apologized and walked back towards me.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Tony asked. "I thought you were working."

"I'm going in late," Jen said.

"This is Jack and his friend Audrey," Tony said. "This is Jen."

Jack said hello to try to make up for the fact he pointed his gun at her.

"I saw you on TV this morning," Jen said to me. "You're the daughter of the Secretary of Defense. You and your old man were kidnapped this morning."

"Yeah," I said. Thanks for reminding me.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"I'm helping them out with something," Tony said vaguely.

"Could you be a little more specific?" Jen asked.

"We need to use Tony's computer," Jack explained.

"What they don't have computers where you work?" She asked. Tony tried explaining it to her.

"Whatever, I'm leaving anyway," Jen said.

"Tony," Jack said, backing in front of the door.

"Jen you can't go anywhere," Tony said.

"Why not?" She asked.

"We can't leave until Jack and Audrey take off. We can't take a chance," Tony said.

"What kind of chance?" Jen asked. "I work at a bar."

"I'm sorry, Jen," Jack said. "We're not going to be long."

"Look, stay as long as you want. I have a job," Jen said. She indicated to Tony. "He doesn't."

There's a silence. Maybe I could talk to her. Put it into words she understands. "Jen, can I talk to you for a second?"

She doesn't move. "Please."

She and I move away from Jack and Tony. "Look we were fighting for our lives a few minutes ago and if it hadn't been for Tony, we would've been dead. Now I've been through a lot today and I'm sure that when this is all over, your boss will understand."

"And, if he doesn't?" She asked.

"I can have him killed," I joked.

She smiled. "Knock yourself out."

"Thank you," I said. She went back to the room she had come out of before.

"How're you guys making out?" I asked Jack and Tony who were getting started on the computer.

"Good," Jack said. "I just have to convert this so I can read it. Then hopefully you can make an I.D. from the surveillance video."

"I have some software for that," Tony said. "Let me dig it out."

"You told me about Tony but I didn't know that Michelle left him," I said.

"Yeah, a few months after he got out of prison," Jack said.

"I thought he went to prison because of her," I said. "He saved her life and she paid him back by leaving."

"Yeah, that's the way Tony sees it too," Jack said. "It didn't happen exactly like that. When Tony got out of prison, he was angry. He couldn't get a job. Personally, I think he didn't want one. He started drinking. He pushed her away."

"What is she doing now?" I asked.

"Deputy director over at Division," Jack said.

"I hope he can help us," I said.

"If he can, he will," Jack said.

"Alright here we go," Tony said, coming back towards us.

"You got it Tony?" Jack asked.

"Right here," he said. Jack put the disc into the computer and it worked almost instantly.

"We're in," he said. He pulled up the footage and fast-forwarded to the time we had been looking at before.

"I remember this lady," I said pointing to the screen. "We saw him around here."

Jack changes to a different angle to try and see the man. Jack zooms in on the man.

"You sure that's him?" Jack asked.

"Yes," I said.

"I'm going to run this through the D.C. office," Jack said. He picked up the phone and started to dial. "Tony, she's on the phone. She can't be making calls."

Tony walked into the bedroom and told Jen to get off the phone. Jack and I could hear her yell at Tony. He came back with the phone. "Go ahead."

"Thanks," Jack said. He spoke into the phone. "Hey Marcie this is Jack. I'm sending you an image we need I. ."

Jack sent the picture to Marcie and hung up.

"She'll let us know when she gets something," Jack said.

"Feel free to sit on the couches," Tony said.

"Yeah, why don't you go lay down?" Jack suggested.

"I'm okay," I said.

"Audrey," Jack said. "You were kidnapped and shot at and I'm sure you're exhausted."

"Fine," I said. I stood up and went over to the couch facing the kitchen. I took off my jacket and put my hair down before lying on the couch. Jack stayed at the computer. I closed my eyes for a couple minutes and tried to relax. When I opened them again I felt much better.

"What are you doing?" I asked Jack.

"Just checking the surveillance from later that night. See who he's talking to," Jack said.

"Did you find anything?" I asked.

"No, not yet," Jack said.

"Anybody want a beer?" Tony asked walking to the fridge.

"I could use one," I answered. Tony walked over and Jack's phone rang. I took a sip of my beer. I played with label on it as I thought about what was going to happen next. Jack walked over to me after hanging up.

"Your father's sending someone to pick you up and bring you back to CTU," Jack said.

"Okay," I said. I grabbed his hand and kissed it. He smiled but then turned his attention to Tony who was watching soccer on the television. Jack walked over to him. Jack turned off the T.V. and sat down across from Tony. They talked but I could only pick up pieces of what they were saying so I stared back down at my bottle of beer and picked at the label.

_"Soccer is boring," I said after enduring twenty minutes of it._

_ "You like every sport," Jack said. "Except soccer?"_

_ "Yeah," I said._

_ "How?" Jack asked. "I mean it's one of the big ones."_

_ "I don't know. I guess I just don't get it," I said._

_ "See those nets on the side," Jack said. "They're trying to get the ball into them."_

_ "Really? I had no idea what those were for," I said sarcastically. We were lying on the couch and I could feel Jack's arms bring me closer to him. "And, I mean the guys aren't even that good looking. So what's the point?"_

_ "Please don't tell me that the only reason you like sports is because of the guys," Jack said._

_ "No, but they do make it more interesting," I said. "Although it is hard to compare to my super amazingly handsome boyfriend."_

_"Good save," Jack said. I leaned over and kissed him and let him watch the rest of the game._

Jack's phone rang and he answered.

"Who is it?" Jack asked. Had they found out who the man I recognized was? Jack went over to the computer and I followed him. I put up my hair again and watched as Marcie uploaded the file on the man I recognized, Henry Powell.

"Wait a second, McLennen-Forster. They're the defense contractors who designed the override devices controlling the power plants. Jack talked to Marcie about a possible location of Powell and the secret service pulled into the driveway outside.

"Audrey, get your things, we got to go," Jack said. I grabbed my coat.

"Thanks Tony," I said before Jack called me outside. I went out and met up with him.

"This Agent Davis. He's going to take care of you," Jack said.

"Okay," I said. I moved closer to Jack and kissed him on the cheek. "Be careful."

"I will," Jack said. "You too."

I got into the car. The last thing I wanted was be separated from Jack. He was going to go out in the field and I was worried about him. Jack hadn't been in the field for a long time. It was dangerous and I couldn't bare to lose him.

We pulled up to CTU and I got out of the car. I wished Jack was with me. As soon as I walked inside my dad pulled me into his arms.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I said.

"Thank god," he said. He let me go and we got back to work.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

3:00PM- 4:00PM

_"You feel warm," I said, after kissing him good morning._

_ "I'm fine," Jack said. I certainly wasn't going to argue. We got ready for work and went our separate ways. At noon, Jack came into my office and sat across from me so we could go over some reports together. Jack looked exhausted and pale._

_ "You look awful," I said._

_ "Thanks," Jack said sarcastically._

_ "Jack, go home. Get some sleep," I told him._

_ "We have work to do," Jack said._

_ "We always have work to do," I said. "That doesn't mean we never leave. Or take a sick day."_

_ "I'm fine," Jack said._

_ "You're going to make everyone else sick," I said, standing up and walking around my desk to where he was sitting. I put my hand on his head, which was burning. After a second he pulled away._

_ "I'm fine," he repeated. I sighed. He could be so stubborn. Luckily at that moment, my dad walked in._

_ "Make Jack go home," I said. "He's a health hazard."_

_ "Jack, go home if you're sick," my dad said._

_ "I'm fine, sir, really," Jack said, standing up._

_ "You look awful," my dad said. "Go home."_

_ "Told you," I said. Jack listened and went home and I found him soundly asleep when I got home. I went to the kitchen and started cooking some chicken noodle soup for him. When it was done I gently woke Jack up._

_ "Hey," I said, as he opened his eyes._

_ "Hey," he said, trying to sit up. "What time is it?"_

_ "Five thirty," I said. "I made you some soup because I figured you haven't eaten all day."_

_ "You're the best," he said._

_ "I know," I said. I spent the rest of the night trying to make Jack feel better._

_ "You're going to get sick now," Jack said when I finally got into bed._

_ "It's okay," I said. As long as Jack was feeling better, I didn't care about how I would be feeling tomorrow._

I couldn't help but worry about Jack. I had no idea where he was. Or if he was okay. But, I didn't have time to worry about that. Apparently, a power plant had already been melted down. This was bad. Really bad. Whatever Jack was doing, it better be working.

I went to go find my dad. He was in a meeting in the conference room that looked like it was about to end. I waited outside then went in as people left.

"Are you okay?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I said. "How're you holding up?"

"Considering the situation we're in," he started closing the door. "I'm doing fine. The truth of the matter is we do not have the manpower to handle this madness."

"Tell me what I can do," I said.

"I've prioritized the evacuation protocol but I need someone to keep the state police and National Guard from bumping into each other."

"Alright," I said. I turned around to look at the map on screen behind me. "I'll stop the Guard at the seventy fifth mile marker and let the police take over from there. We'll maximize room for civilian traffic."

"I wish we had some other way to get those people out of there," my dad said.

I looked again at the map. "There's nowhere else to route them."

"Jack has got to find the override before the rest of these reactors go critical," he said.

"Yeah," I said. "I'm sure he's working as fast as he can."

"Me too," he said.

"I should get to work," I said, not wanting to show how incredibly nervous I am about him.

"He'll be okay," my dad said, reading my mind as I opened the door. I smiled at him and left the conference room.

I had a laptop set up at a spot on a table and got to work on organizing the National Guard and the police. I was on the phone with the National Guard when a CTU worker came over to me.

"Ms. Raines, my name is Edgar Styles," the man said. I told him to hold on a second. I finished my conversation and stood up.

"I'm sorry," I said, walking next to him. "What is it?"

"It's my mother," Edgar said.

"Your mother?" I asked. I was confused.

"She lives in St. Gabriel Island. She's in a wheelchair. She doesn't drive. She missed her call to evacuate and I don't know what to do," Edgar said.

"Maybe someone from the National Guard can get her," I suggested.

"I already spoke to the area commander," Edgar said. "He said he couldn't spare anyone."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm not sure what I can do."

"Here's his number," Edgar said. "I thought maybe if you called him yourself. Look I hate asking for special treatment. That's not something that I would normally do but she's my mother."

I understood. I had lost my mother and it was horrible. It can't hurt to ask.

"I can't make any promises," I said.

"Just promise me you'll try, okay?" he said.

"Alright," I said, taking the number. I walked away. Chances were that they weren't going to send anyone. They were busy and wouldn't focus their attention on one person at a time like this.

I called the number Edgar gave me. A man answered. I introduced myself.

"What can I do for you Ms. Raines?" he asked.

"There's a woman on St. Gabriel Island who still needs to be evacuated but is in a wheelchair and can't drive," I said.

"I'm sorry," the man said, like I knew he would. "But, we just don't have enough manpower to send somebody over there. We have thousands of people we're trying to evacuate right now."

"Look, I understand that this is difficult but this is incredibly important," I said.

"Who is this woman?" the man asked.

"The mother of someone working at CTU," I answered.

"Like I said," the man said. "We're too backed up. The traffic on the interstate is using all our manpower right now. We need to save the maximum number of lives that we can right now."

I sighed. "I understand."

I should have lied. I should have said she was someone else. Said she was someone important. But, he was right. They couldn't worry about saving one person when they could be saving millions. But, now I have to tell Edgar. Great. I'm going to make an enemy in a matter of seconds. Edgar came up to me as I hung up the phone.

"Ms. Raines," he said. "Did you talk to them?"

"Yes," I said. How was I supposed to tell him that his mother was going to die? "Edgar, I'm sorry. They can't get your mother."

"Why not?" He asked. "They're five miles off the highway. It wouldn't take that much time."

"They know where she is," I said.

"Then what's the problem?" he asked.

"Thousands of people are stuck on the interstate in traffic. It's taking the combined efforts of the police and the National Guard to get them moving," I explained.

"So, who cares about one old woman?" Edgar asked.

"They've got to throw their resources into saving the maximum number of lives," I tried to justify. I knew it wouldn't help.

"If my mother were rich or a politician, they'd find a way to save her," Edgar said. I knew that. It wasn't fair, but it was true. Edgar walked away and I felt horrible. At least he could call her. Tell her that he loved her.

_"Mom," I said, running into the house after getting off the bus. "We're home."_

_ Richard followed behind me. We went into the kitchen to do our homework like we always did. _

_ "Mom?" I called. Still no response. Richard sat down at the kitchen table and got his homework out. I went into the living room and saw my mom lying on the couch._

_ "Mom," I said, nudging her arm to wake her up. "I need help with my history homework."_

_ She wouldn't wake up. "Mom. Mom."_

_ Still nothing. Oh god. I picked up the phone and dialed my father's work number. I started to cry as I shook my mom but didn't get a response._

_ "Hello?" he answered._

_ "Daddy," I said, crying. "Mommy won't wake up."_

_ "What?" he said._

_ Richard started coming into the room. "No, Richard, get out!"_

_ "Audie, honey," dad said on the phone. I ran up to my brother and brought him back into the kitchen. "Audrey!"_

_ "What?" I asked. I could barely hear him over the pounding in my head from crying._

_ "Call 911," he said. "I'm on my way home right now."_

_ "Hurry," I said. I hung up and called 911. When my dad got home Richard and I got into his car and followed him to the hospital where they were taking my mother. She was pronounced dead when we got there. I hadn't stopped crying since I'd seen her. Richard was too young to fully understand what was going on but he was crying too. I could tell my dad was hurting but he tried not to show it as he held us closely._


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

4:00PM-5:00PM

I walked over to a conference room where my dad was working.

"Everything's running as smoothly as possible with the National Guard and state police," I told him.

"Good," he said. I sat down in one of the chairs. Then, Driscoll came and put the speakerphone on. It was Jack.

"Jack, it's Jim," my dad said. "Bring us up to speed."

"We have a hostage situation involving one of the men involved in the terrorist attacks this morning," Jack said.

"We're pulling up his I.D. now," Driscoll said, using the screen behind me. I turned around. "His name is Navi Araz. He was granted American citizenship five years ago."

"Who's the hostage?" dad asked.

"His seventeen year old son, Behrooz. He broke ranks and now his father sees him as a liability. Araz knows that we have his wife in custody. He's worried that if he kills the boy, she'll betray him by cooperating with us," Jack said.

"What did she say?" I asked.

"She's agreed to help us find the override to stop the nuclear meltdowns if we rescue her son," Driscoll answered.

"So, the father will stall, keep the kid alive until the reactors blow?" dad asked.

"That's right, sir," Jack said.

"We already lost one in California, Jack. Can we trust this woman to help us?" dad asked.

"Right now I think she'll do whatever she can to protect her son," Jack said.

"Okay, Jack. Whatever you need, you got," my father said. "Just get that kid."

"Yes sir," Jack said. "Erin, I'm going to need a thermo-satellite scan of the building. We're looking for two heat sources in close proximity in remote areas in the basement."

"Okay, I'll call you back as soon as we've got something," Driscoll said. Driscoll hung up and left the room.

_Jack came up behind me quietly and wrapped his arms around my waist. I jumped not realizing that he had even woken up never mind walked into the kitchen._

_ "You scared me," I said._

_ "Sorry," he said, kissing my shoulder and wrapping his arms tighter around me. "What are you doing?"_

_ "Making pancakes," I said._

_ Jack's lips travelled along my neck and his hands went under my shirt. I turned around and kissed him. He tried to pull my shirt up but I stopped him._

_ "Breakfast first," I said, turning around to the pancakes before they could burn._

_ "No," Jack said, his lips finding my neck again. "Breakfast later."_

_ "Jack," I said. "If we eat now we won't have to take a break for food for a while."_

_ "Good point," he said, backing away. He got out two plates and I put the pancakes on them. We sat at the table and ate our breakfast quickly so we could go make love. Only seconds after putting the dishes in the sink, Jack's lips were on mine and we were headed to the bedroom where we would spend the majority of our Saturday._

Driscoll and Curtis joined us to talk about the mole, Marianne Taylor. Apparently, there was a computer file with names of whom she and Henry Powell were working for.

"So this Marianne Taylor claims she has to access the file personally?" My dad asked.

"Yes," Curtis said.

"And, do you believe her?" dad asked.

"I'm not sure," Curtis said. "The polygraph indicates that she's telling the truth but in my opinion she may be a sociopath."

"Are you a psychologist?" my father asked.

"No," Curtis said. "But I have had dealings with her before."

"Dealings that might affect your judgment?"

"No," Curtis said.

"Well we have to check it out. The question is how?" dad said.

"I can spare an operative from the cyber unit and security team," Driscoll said.

"What do you think?" dad asked me.

"I think Curtis should go," I said.

"I need Curtis here," Driscoll said.

"The information on the computer file may be important," I said. "Someone with experience needs to examine it first hand."

"I agree," dad said. "Send Curtis, with a security team and you'll have to do without him until he gets back."

"Yes sir," Driscoll said. She and Curtis left the room. I left shortly after and took a seat at a computer. My phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Ms. Raines, this is Mike Evans from the Los Angeles DOD office," the man on the line said.

"What can I do for you?" I asked.

"I was wondering if Secretary Heller had an idea as to who can come help us with our workload," Mike said.

"I'll talk to him and let you know," I said. I hung up and looked at their office logs. My father came by.

"I spoke with Mike at the local DOD office and he wants to know who you want to bring in to help manage with their load," I said.

"Things are too unstable for me to leave here. I have to keep my eye on tactical," he said.

"Well, I checked with their logs and their going to need someone pretty soon," I told him.

"How're you holding up?" he asked.

"I can handle it, if that's what you mean," I said. I could tell he was worried about me leaving again. "Dad, it will be fine."

"Why don't you head over there then," he said.

"Okay, I'll call you from there," I said. He walked away and I picked up my phone. I called Mike Evans to tell him I would be there soon. I walked out to a CTU car and pulled out.

I hated to admit it but I was nervous about being out again. This time without Jack or my father. I kept checking my rearview mirror to see if anyone was following me. My cell phone rang and I answered.

"Ms. Raines, this is Sarah from CTU. I've got Jack. Hold please," she said. I waited for her to patch me through and was excited to finally get to talk to Jack. I heard Sarah telling Jack that he was connected.

"Audrey, it's me," Jack said.

"Hey, did you find anything at the address?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "The building was used by the terrorists to plan this morning's attacks."

"Jack, that's a great find," I said.

"Yeah there's something else," Jack said, apologetically.

"What?" I asked.

"The company that owns the building. It's called Galaxy Financial Services, you ever heard of them?" Jack asked.

"No, should I have?" I asked.

Jack hesitated. "Your husband's the chief financial officer."

"What?" I asked. Is he saying Paul might have something to do with this? No way. There's just no way.

"I need to find Paul," Jack said. "I need to speak to him now."

"Paul had nothing to do with the kidnapping," I said.

"Maybe. Maybe not. But, his name's all over the paperwork for the building and because of his relationship to you and your father, he's going to have to explain that."

"Jack, I don't know where he is. He left CTU without saying anything," I told him.

"Can you reach him?" Jack asked.

"Well, yeah I have his cell phone number," I said. I still didn't think Paul was involved.

"Okay, I want you to call him, keep it personal. I don't want you to tell him what we know. I just want you to tell me where he is," Jack said. I hesitated. "Audrey, five power plants could still melt down. If Paul has any information that can help us stop that from happening, we have to follow through with it. You know that."

"Alright," I agreed.

"Please get back to me as soon as you can," Jack said.

"Okay, I will," I said. We hung up. I thought about what to say and dialed Paul's number.

"Hello?" Paul answered.

"Hey," I said. "Paul, it's Audrey."

"Wasn't expecting to hear from you," he said.

"I know I was just-" I started. "Look I didn't like the way we left things between us."

"I didn't care for it much either," Paul said. "Look, uh, I'm glad you called but I'm about to check out."

Check out? Not good. "Where are you going?"

"What difference does it make?" Paul asked.

"Look Paul I was thinking about what you said about how we've got so much going on for us," I said, trying to sound convincing.

"I thought you wanted a divorce," Paul said.

"Yeah, I thought so too, but I just- you know Paul, today was the first time we've seen each other in months and I don't know maybe it took a while for it to sink in. Maybe you were right. Maybe there is something there."

"Audrey, you know this is what I want more than anything-" Paul started.

"Then let me come over," I interrupted. "I don't want to have the most important conversation of my life over the phone."

Telling him he was important. That was bound to do it. He gave in. "Okay. I'm at the West Moore Hotel. Room 408."

"Okay," I said. "I'll be there soon."

"I'll wait for you," Paul said. We hung up. I felt really bad. Especially if he's not involved which I doubt he is. I called Jack back to tell him.

"Yeah," Jack answered.

"Okay Jack I spoke with Paul," I said. "He's at the West Moore downtown room 408. I'm heading over there now."

Jack was without a doubt going to protest. "No, Audrey, you need to let us handle this. We don't know Paul's connection to the attack yet. He could be dangerous."

"Jack, I don't think we have a choice," I told him. "He was on his way out the door. I had to make something up just to keep him there."

"Fine. I can get there instead," Jack argued.

"Jack, I'm only a couple minutes away and he knows that," I said. "He's not going to stick around if I don't show up."

"Audrey, I know you're trying to help but I don't feel comfortable with you going in that room alone," Jack said.

"Jack, it's the only thing he won't suspect. He's been wanting to talk about the marriage all day long," I said. "Look, I'll keep him there until you get there."

"No, it's not an option," Jack said. God, he could be so stubborn sometimes. He was just going to keep arguing with me if I didn't hang up.

"Jack, just get there as soon as you can, please," I said. I hung up before I could hear the almost inevitable yelling. Jack would be driving much faster now but he'd get over it.

I pulled into the parking lot of the hotel and my phone rang as I walked through the doors.

"Yeah," I answered.

"What's this I hear about you going to see Paul by yourself?" my dad asked.

Great another overprotective male in my life to argue with. "It's the only way to keep him here."

"If Paul was involved in our kidnapping-" my dad started.

"Look, Paul would never hurt me," I said as I searched for the elevator.

"There's strong evidence to suggest that he was involved which means he is dangerous," dad said.

"Look, I don't believe he is," I said.

"You don't know what he is, Audrey," dad warned. What happened to my dad who adored Paul and constantly told me to fix things between us?

"I lived with him for eight years, I know him," I said.

"Yeah, I thought I knew him too," dad said. "Audrey, I forbid you to do this."

"Dad, I'm sorry. I'm already here," I said. I hung up on him and got onto the elevator. The ride up took forever. Paul couldn't have been involved in this morning's attacks. I knew him too well. He would never hurt me or my father. I got to the door, composed myself and knocked quietly. Paul opened the door and I gave him a fake smile.

"Come on in," he said. I walked in and looked around. "I'm glad you came. Can I get you something?"

"Sure," I said.

"I had them send up your favorite champagne," Paul said. "To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure you'd really come."

"Why wouldn't I?" I asked.

"You were so adamant before about ending things and then a turn around was just a little surprising that's all," Paul said.

"How about you?" I asked. "I hardly hear from you for about six months and then you see me with another man and suddenly you're pouring Dom Perignon."

"It shows what a fool I am for not realizing what I had," Paul said. "It also shows that I still have feelings for you. And, you must have some for me too or else you wouldn't be here right?"

I didn't say anything. How could I? Saying that I did would just make it harder for him once Jack showed up and he realized that it was all a game.

"I would hate to think that you are playing some kind of game with me," Paul said, coming closer.

"I don't play games, Paul," I lied.

"Good," he said, handing me the glass of champagne. He held his glass up. "To new beginnings."

"To new beginnings," I repeated clinking my glass against his. I took a sip.

"Why don't we sit?" Paul said, motioning to the couch. I walked past him and sat on the chair next to the couch so I could avoid sitting next to him.

"You know I think you should move west with me," he said. I didn't answer. I played with my hands nervously wondering where Jack was. I hated lying. "Or, I can move to Washington."

Paul continued, "I could turn west coast operations over to Ben Simon. Audrey."

"Yes, I heard you," I said. "Turn west coast operations over to Ben Simon."

"What do you say?" Paul asked.

"I don't know," I said. "I guess you'd have to decide whether or not he's capable of running-"

"No. Not what you think of Ben Simon, what do you think of me moving back east?" he said.

"Oh, um. Well, I don't know," I said. I took a sip of champagne.

"I feel like I'm doing all the work here," he said. "You said you wanted to talk but you're not talking."

"These things take time Paul," I said. This was getting too hard.

"Well, maybe, talking isn't what we should be doing," he said. Is he serious? Even if I truly was here to fix our marriage that would never happen. "Why are you looking at me like that?

"You're my wife for God's sake," he continued. I put my champagne down. If I left now Jack could still get here before Paul could leave.

"You can't believe I came over here to sleep with you," I said.

"Okay, you didn't come over here to sleep with me," Paul said. "You didn't come over to talk with me. Why did you come?"

"I just-I thought," I tried to think of something quickly. "That maybe we could spend a little time together. It would be nice."

"On a day like this?" Paul asked. He was getting angry now. "All hell's broke loose and you thought it would be nice for us to spend some time together? I guess I really wasn't thinking when you called, was I?

"What are you doing here? What's really going on? Are you spying on me?"

"Are you doing something worth spying on?" I asked.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Paul yelled.

"I just-I think I should go," I said.

"I think you should stay," Paul yelled blocking my way.

"Please just let me leave," I begged.

"No," he said.

The door broke and Jack came in. Perfect timing.

"Get your hands off of her," Jack yelled at Paul.

"You set me up," Paul yelled at me.

"Audrey, get behind me," Jack said nicely. Then he yelled at Paul. "Put your hands on your head now. Now!"

Paul did. "What do you want?"

"I want answers," Jack said. He kept the gun pointed at Paul.

"Well, I'm not talking to you," Paul said. Did Paul actually have something to do with all this? Jack punched him and Paul went down. What the hell was that for?


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Jack sat Paul on a chair and tied him up. I sat down. Paul couldn't be behind all this. And, yet he could be. Jack walked over to me and squatted down, taking my hands in his.

"I think it would be better if you left the room while I question your husband," he suggested. "You can go wait for us outside with the backup team."

"What are you going to do to him?" I asked. I wasn't sure if I truly wanted the answer.

"Whatever I have to," Jack answered.

Maybe if I stayed, Jack wouldn't hurt him. "I'm staying."

Jack looked down, thinking about it. "Fine."

He stood up and walked over to Paul. He opened the buttons on Paul's shirt and then went into the bathroom. When he returned he had a sponge and a bucket of water. He dipped the sponge in the water and walked back over to Paul, where he squeezed the water over Paul's head to wake him up.

Jack squatted to Paul's eye level. "Look at me, Paul. Look at me."

"I've got nothing to say to you," Paul said. I couldn't tell if he was saying that because he was just being a jerk or if he actually had something to hide.

"It's what you need to know, Paul," Jack said. "There are five nuclear power plants about to melt down right now. All I care about right now is making sure that doesn't happen. Your name is on a lease for a building in Chatsworth that was used by the terrorist to plan today's attack. That makes you a prime suspect. I'm going to treat you like one, do you understand that?"

"My name is on at least fifty different leases," Paul protests. "I have ten different corporations. I don't know about some building in Chatsworth."

"I don't believe you," Jack said. "The lease of that building was notarized. There's documentation of your I.D. CTU verified your signature. Paul, you need to start talking to me now."

"I've got nothing to say to you," Paul replied. Now what? Jack walked over to a lamp and started pulling at the cord. I ran over to him, afraid of what he was going to do.

"Jack," I said. "I don't think Paul would be a traitor to this country."

"Right now, Paul is a prime suspect and he's not cooperating with me and I don't have time to do this any other way," Jack said. "And, I need to know for sure."

He took the wire and went back over to Paul. Who was this man? Sure, I had heard of some of the things Jack had done at CTU before. But, he was a different man when I met him and when I spent every night laying next him. Why couldn't someone else do this? Why couldn't he just trust that I knew Paul well enough to know he would never be involved with terrorists?

"Paul," Jack said. "This is the last chance you have to talk to me before I have to hurt you. Tell me about 24878 Alvord Street in Chatsworth. Why is your name on the lease?"

"Jack please," I begged.

"Audrey, don't interfere!" Jack yelled. "If you need to step outside of this room, do it."

Jack turned back to Paul. "Why is your name on the lease?"

I felt tears forming in my eyes but wouldn't leave. I heard Jack make sparks with the wire.

"You're bluffing," Paul said. Jack answered by pressing the wire against Paul's chest. Paul screamed in pain and it took extreme effort not to scream myself.

"I need that information, Paul. I need it now," Jack said. Paul was shaking. "Come on Paul, just tell me your connection to the terrorist."

"Jack," I said quietly hoping he wouldn't yell again, or I definitely would cry. "Please, don't."

Jack didn't even acknowledge me before putting the wires against Paul's chest yet again. Jack stood up and held the wire next to Paul's ear.

"I-I don't know the specific building you're talking about but I can find out," Paul said.

"How?" Jack asked.

"My corporate records are stored on my laptop," Paul said, stuttering. "If that address is under my name, it'll come up. Maybe there's someone else involved I don't know about."

"What's your user I.D. and login number?" Jack asked.

"It'll be much quicker if I just do it," Paul said. "Please."

Jack backed away and I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. "You want me to believe you're not involved with this Paul, you better show me who is."

Jack untied Paul's hands and looked at me. I looked back and wondered if I was dreaming. I had to be. Kidnapped, shot at, and now had to watch my husband be tortured. It had to be a nightmare. Jack and Paul went to his laptop.

_"Where are we going?" I asked Paul, who was sitting across from me on a private plane bound for who-knows-where._

_ "I told you," Paul said, filling my glass of champagne. "It's a surprise."_

_ I smiled. We had been together for almost two years and Paul constantly surprised me with sweet romantic getaways or dinners. He made me laugh and I felt incredibly comfortable around him. When we landed, I still had no idea where we were._

_ "Paul, where are we?" I asked._

_ "Trust me," Paul said. "You'll figure it out."_

_ We walked outside and I looked around. Behind me, I could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. We were in Paris. I hugged him. I had told him how I had always wanted to go to Paris but somehow in all my travels had never had the chance to go._

_ We took a car to a huge hotel and went inside. We went up to our room, suite actually, and put down our things. I grabbed a sweatshirt and we left to explore. We went to the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and then took a short drive to a vineyard for a wine tasting. It was late when we got back to the hotel and immediately flopped down on the bed. I was exhausted._

_ "Thank you," I said, sitting up so Paul could sit next to me. I kissed him gently._

_ "Marry me," Paul said, pulling out a ring from his pocket. I smiled and kissed him. "Is that a yes?"_

_ "Mhm," I said, laying him down and kissing him more passionately. He stopped me only for a second as he took the ring and slid it onto my finger._

"Yep here it is," Paul said. "Galaxy Financial Services."

"What kind of a company is it?" Jack asked.

"It's a failing payroll service I was about to dissolve but then someone came in with an offer to buy fifty-one percent of the shares. Seven- eight hundred grand, something like that. Yeah, Harris Barnes, director."

"Who is Harris Barnes?" Jack asked.

"I uh don't remember," Paul said. I could tell he was trying hard in order to avoid Jack's torture.

"What do you mean, you don't remember?" Jack asked.

"I'm involved with over thirty companies. I don't deal directly with most of them," Paul said.

"Explain to me Paul how your name got on the lease," Jack said.

"I don't know," Paul said.

"You expect me to believe that you entered into a business deal with hundreds of thousands of dollars with someone that you've never met?" Jack asked.

"My attorney handles most of-" Paul started.

"Paul!" Jack interrupted. "I don't believe you!"

"Jack, it's possible," I said. "Paul's put together a lot of deals through his attorneys."

Jack looked at me and considered what I said. Or maybe, he was just upset that I was siding with Paul. But, he turned around and walked away taking out his cell phone. I could tell he called CTU about this Harris Barnes guy. Jack hung up and then excused himself. He left the room.

"Your boyfriend is just a soak with a badge," Paul said.

"Paul," I said. "Why is your name on that lease?"

"Unbelievable," Paul said. "An hour ago I was sitting here feeling sorry for myself thinking you didn't want me back. And, now, you think I'm a terrorist. You think I had something to do with you and your father's kidnapping?"

"I don't know what to believe anymore," I said. Jack being the prime example. I thought I knew him. I also thought I knew Paul; maybe I was wrong about that too. I was so confused. Jack came back in and his phone rang. I could hear that maybe they had a break through. Jack explained that the name Harris Barnes was an alias for a man: Habib Marwan. Jack said that they got an address that he was going to check out. Jack, Paul, and I walked outside and got into a car. Jack drove.

Jack. I couldn't stop thinking of him pushing the wires against Paul's chest. How Paul yelled but Jack showed no emotion, no remorse. How could the man who rescued me this morning and protected me and told me he was falling in love with me be the same man that tortured my husband? He had slipped back into CTU mode so easily and it was so natural for him that I wondered whether or not the Jack I knew and loved was all a façade.

"Bauer," Jack said, answering his phone.

He listened for a minute. "Curtis's phone is ringing and he's not answering it?"

He listened again. "He's in trouble. Where are the field teams?"

"What's the probability Marwan's even in the facility?" Jack asked after he got his answer. Then, "Where are they staging?"

Jack hung up after he got his answer.

"Your people found Marwan yet?" Paul asked.

"No," Jack said.

"Audrey," Paul said. "You have to know I would never be involved in anything that could bring you harm."

"Of all the people this Marwan could approach to do business with, he chose you," I said. "It's a hell of a coincidence Paul."

"It might not just be a coincidence," Jack said. "They may have wanted Paul for more than just the corporate shell."

"He chose Paul because he was my husband?" I asked making sure I understood.

"That would put them one degree of separation from your father," Jack said.

"So this Marwan used me to get to Audrey's father?" Paul asked.

"It's a possibility," Jack said.

"Well, I had no idea where Audrey or her father would be today. The information they used to stage the kidnapping couldn't have come from me," Paul said.

"They would have used your relationship with her father for something else," Jack said. "Maybe to plan something for the future. A contingency plan."

"I've been careless," Paul said. He turns to me. "I am so sorry."

I could tell he truly was. He never wanted to hurt me. My hand is on the back of his seat and I gently move one finger and touch his shoulder to tell him it's okay.

I saw Jack look back in the rearview mirror at me and I looked back at him. I felt bad for looking at Paul the way I was until I remembered what Jack had done to him only ten minutes prior. I thought back to this morning when I was so sure about getting a divorce with Paul. How I was so sure that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Jack. And, now, in only a few hours, I wasn't sure about anything. Maybe my marriage could be saved. Maybe Jack and I weren't supposed to be together.

_"You look beautiful, sweetheart," dad said._

_ "You always say that," I said, looking at my perfect wedding dress in the mirror._

_ "And, I'm always right," dad said. "Nervous?"_

_ "No," I said. And, I wasn't. Paul made me feel comfortable. "Is that bad?"_

_ "No," dad said._

_ "It's just that most people are nervous, right?" I asked._

_ "I guess it depends on the person," he answered._

_ "What about when you married mom?" I asked._

_ "I was a nervous wreck," he said. That didn't make me feel better. My mom and dad had been so in love before she died. I always wanted my marriage to be like theirs. Maybe being comfortable with Paul was a good thing. But, what if after a while comfortable became boring? It didn't matter. I was happy and things were going to be fine. Paul and I were good together._

But it was the comfortableness that had started our downward spiral. We became uninterested in what the other one had to say. We started focusing on our careers more than the marriage because we assumed that the other one would never want to leave that comfortable state.

And, then there was Jack. Jack who made my heart race and gave me goose bumps when I looked at him or walked by him. Jack who made my stomach get butterflies whenever I talked to him. Jack who made my heart stop and my body go limp when he kissed me. If I were to marry Jack, I'd be nervous. Maybe that was what I needed.

Now, however, I was nervous for a different reason. Now, I was nervous that Jack and I wouldn't work. After what I saw him do to Paul, I wasn't sure I could ever look at him the same. Now, I was nervous that I still had feeling for Paul. Why couldn't we just g back to yesterday?

Jack came to a stop. The three of us got out. Jack talked to a CTU agent and then back over to me.

"I need you to stay here with these men until I get back," Jack said.

"Are you going in?" I asked. I was still concerned about his safety. I still loved him. Just not this new him.

"Yeah," he said. His phone rang and he apologized and stepped away. When he came back I watched as he got his gun out from the back of the car. I wanted to yell at him not to go in.

He could tell. "I'll be right back."

He got into a car and it sped away. I was left with Paul and a group of men.

"You okay?" Paul asked.

"Fine," I said. I couldn't let him in just yet. I had to sort out my feelings. Jack, Paul, Jack, Paul. My brain couldn't sort everything out. Maybe it didn't have to. Maybe I just needed to wait until this madness was over. Then everything would be back to normal. God, I hoped so.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

6:00PM-7:00PM

Jack came over to Paul and me. "Curtis is going to take you both back to CTU."

"What about you?" I asked.

"I have to go to McLennan Forster," Jack said. I wished he didn't. If we could just go back to CTU and if we could talk about what happened earlier, things would be fine.

"Why there?" Paul asked.

"Turns out the man we're looking for works there," Jack said.

"You need to get into their computer system?" Paul asked.

"Yeah," Jack answered.

"Okay, I'll go with you," Paul said. Jack and I looked at him like he was nuts.

"Why?" Jack asked.

"My company sold them their IT system. I used to be a systems analyst and represented their databases and code of military security."

"McLennan Forster has personnel on board. They're going to help us get into his files," Jack said.

"Yeah, well, I can get you in backdoors that those people don't even know about," Paul said. Jack considered it. Please say no. I was already worried about just Jack going on another mission, but now Paul too. What if I lost them both?

"Fine you go with me," Jack said. "Audrey, I want you to stay with Curtis. I'll be on my cell. Let's go."

Jack left and Paul followed behind him. I followed Curtis to a car. I was worried about them. And, felt guilty for not knowing which one I was more worried about. It should be Jack. But, at least Jack had experience in the field unlike Paul.

"Are you okay, Ms. Raines?" Curtis asked as we pulled out onto the road.

"I'm fine," I said. "And, you can call me Audrey."

"Okay," Curtis said. "Are you sure you're okay, Audrey?"

"It's just been a crazy day," I said. "Are you okay? I mean just a little while ago you were taken captive by terrorists and escaped and still have the energy to drive us back to CTU."

"I'm fine," Curtis insisted. "Sometimes I forget that to people who aren't used to working in the field, don't understand that these kind of things happen all the time."

"All the time?" I asked, nervously. It reminded me that Jack and Paul were out right now, trying to find a terrorist. They could die even if it seemed like an easy mission.

"No," Curtis said, trying to make me feel better. "I meant-well- Jack will be fine."

"That certainly wasn't convincing," I said.

"Sorry," Curtis said. "But, Jack is a good field agent. He will be fine."

"But, Jack's not a field agent. He's not. He works behind a desk all day. He hasn't been in the field for a really long time," I said.

"Once a field agent always a field agent," Curtis said. "You don't forget a lot. Especially if you're good like Jack."

We got to CTU and I got out and went inside. I got a call from Jack.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey, it's me," Jack said. "Where are you?"

"Curtis and I just arrived at CTU," I said.

"Listen I want you to get a security detail and go back to the hotel and just get some rest," Jack said.

"Jack, I can't leave. Not now," I said. "My father still needs my help. Are you at McLennan Forster yet?"

"Almost," Jack said.

"Jack can you make me a promise?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't take it the wrong way.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Take care of Paul," I said. Paul didn't have training in the field like Jack did. Jack didn't say anything for a minute. "He's not like you. Please, Jack, promise me you will look after him."

"Yeah I will," Jack said. I could tell that he was thinking about what this meant for us.

"Thank you," I said.

"Yeah okay. I'll talk to you later," Jack said.

"Alright bye," I said. I hung up. I sat down at a desk and started working. Jack had gotten the wrong idea about what I had said. I just knew it. Why hadn't I made it clear that I wanted Jack to protect Paul because he wouldn't be able to do it himself? Why hadn't I told him that it wasn't because I still had feelings for Paul? Maybe, because I do. What if I didn't say anything like that because I do still have feelings for Paul. Maybe I was wrong about wanting a divorce.

I tried to not think about it and instead got up to go find my father. I asked someone where I could find him and they pointed to a room. I went in.

"Dad, I just wanted to-" I started. I stopped when I saw him consoling Driscoll who was crying. "Oh, I'm sorry, I-I just wanted to let you know that I was back."

Hey gave me a silent 'I'll be there in a minute'. I left the room wondering what was going on.

My dad found me a couple minutes later. "Everything okay?"

"Fine," I said. "What's going on with Driscoll?"

"Her daughter just died about half and hour ago," he explained.

"Is she okay?" I asked.

"About okay as anyone can be after their child dies. She's stepping down and I put Tony Almeida in charge," he said.

"Good," I said.

"Everything went okay with Paul?" he asked.

"Um yeah," I said.

"I wish you could say that with a little more certainty," he said.

"I just want today to be over," I said. He came closer to me and hugged me.

"I know, sweetheart," he said. "It will be soon, I'm sure."

"Good," I said. I smiled at him to tell him I was okay and he left to get back to work.

_"Promise me that today is never going to end," I said._

_ "I promise," Paul said. We had spent all day together. No phone calls from work. No interruptions. Just perfection._

_ "Don't make promises you can't keep," I said. Paul kissed me._

_ "Promise me that you'll always love me," he said._

_ "Of course," I said. Why wouldn't I?_

_ "Say 'I promise'," he said._

_ I smiled. "I promise."_

_ "Good," Paul said._

_ "Was there a reason for that?" I asked._

_ "I got promoted," he said, happily._

_ "Paul, that's great!" I said. What did that have to do with anything? Then, I put it together. We already spent little time together. "Oh. You're going to have to work more."_

_ "Yes," he said. "And, travel more. But, the pay is so much better, Audrey."_

_ "Can't you just turn it down?" I asked._

_ "Like I said, it's good money. And, it's a huge step in my career," Paul said. "But, you promised you'll always love me."_

_ "Yeah," I said sadly. _

_ "Don't say it like that, love," he said._

_ I smiled. "We'll be fine. We'll figure it out. I'll always love you."_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

I walked over to Curtis who was on the phone.

"Any word from Jack or Paul?" I asked.

"No," he said. "Once the pulse bomb went off we lost all communication."

The pulse bomb had left a large amount of the city in the dark. "What was the last word we heard from them?"

"Jack and Paul found something," Curtis said. "It seems it was incriminating McLennan-Forster."

"So that's why they set off the EMP?" I asked. "To destroy the evidence."

"That'd be my guess," Curtis said.

"This doesn't make sense," I said. "The fact that McLennan Forster is taking aggressive action is evidence against them."

"Yeah," Curtis said. "There's not proof."

I walked around the desk that separated us and whispered. "Curtis, could Jack or Paul have been injured from the detonation?"

"No," Curtis assured me. "The EMP only damages electronics. But, it doesn't mean they're safe."

God, I hoped they were. I went to a conference room to get to work. I worked only for a minute before I heard Tony arguing with a woman outside the room.

"Michelle, Jack and Paul have information that could be vital to ending this crisis," Tony said. Michelle must be Driscoll's replacement. "I should be helping us find them."

Michelle turned around but Tony grabbed her arm. They argued some more but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Michelle walked into the room.

"Is there a problem with Agent Almeida?" I pressed.

"Not at all," Michelle said.

"It's just that Secretary Heller is very sensitive to personal conflicts on the job," I told her. "I know your history. I know you guys were married and that he sacrificed his career to save your life. But, if this is going to be a problem-"

"His being here will not affect my work," she snapped. "I won't let. Now if Secretary Heller would like to speak with me about it, I'll be more than glad to."

She left the room a few minutes later and I thought about what could possibly be happening with Jack and Paul right now. Not a single good scenario popped into my head.

I decided to instead find out how bad the damage was from the meltdown on St. Gabriel Island was. I got the information and went up to bring it to my father.

"I have an update on the St. Gabriel Island meltdown," I said. "It's not quite as bad as we had feared."

"How you doing?" He asked. How is it that whenever someone asks you that question you can't help but want to cry? "Sit down."

I did and he continued. "Any word from Jack or Paul?"

"No," I said sadly.

"I can't imagine how hard this must be for you," he said. No, you definitely can't. "There's something else isn't there?"

"A couple hours ago, when we thought the Paul was somehow involved with the attacks, Jack questioned him," I said. Should I be telling him this? "And, Paul has his pride so he resisted. But-"

"Jack was pretty rough," he finished, so I wouldn't have to.

"Very," I said.

"That's his job," dad said. "He had to make sure. You have to believe that Jack had no choice."

"I know," I said. But, this isn't his job. And, he did have a choice. "I guess, it was just a shock to see it. Somehow he seemed like a different person."

"We need people like that, Audrey," dad said.

"Jack is an incredible man," I said, tears coming to my eyes.

"But, you're not sure you feel the same way you did before. Is that it?" he asked.

"Something like that," I said. A tear fell and I quickly wiped it away. "I should get back to work."

I stood up and he did too. He gave me a hug. I hugged him back but I didn't feel any better. But, when we let go, I smiled to make him think I was okay. I went downstairs and got back to work.

Michelle came over to me. "Audrey."

"Yes," I said.

"Could you let DOD know that we've piggybacked onto local enforcement channels in the blackout zone?" Michelle asked. "I told them earlier that we might need to use their feeds."

"So, you don't need them anymore?" I asked.

"No," Michelle said.

"Alright no problem," I said. I expected Michelle to leave but she didn't.

"Um, look, I didn't mean to be confrontational before," Michelle said. "It's just that when you walk into a hailstorm, you have to be decisive."

"I understand," I said. "And, I know where you're coming from. I think you're making the right decisions but-"

"But what?" she asked.

"I think you should reevaluate your professional opinion of Tony," I said.

"Why's that?" she asked.

"This morning, Jack had nowhere to turn," I explained. "And, he went to the one person he knew would come through for him. And, that person was Tony. Tony saved our lives."

"I didn't know that," she said, after looking over my shoulder at who I'm sure was Tony.

"After that we spent a couple of hours with him, it's true he does have a couple of issues but he is good at what he does, and I think we could use him on a day like today," I said.

"Fair enough," Michelle said. Michelle looked over my shoulder again and this time I turned around to confirm that it was Tony she was looking at.

"And, business aside," I said. "He still cares about you."

I walked away and I hoped that I helped. I wasn't sure what else I could help with so I asked Michelle and I found Tony a couple minutes later.

"Tony," I said. "Michelle just said that you were doing a search on possible ties to Marwan. May I help?"

"Do you have a sign on for the SICI server?" Tony asked.

"In Washington?" I asked.

"Yeah, it would save me time if I could use it on this search," Tony said.

"Yeah," I said. I typed my username and password. "There you go."

"Thanks," he said.

"Anything else?" I asked.

"No, it should kick out a few names. You can help me write them down, once it's done searching," Tony said.

"Okay, great," I said. We looked at the computer screen as it searched.

"So, um, did you tell Michelle what happened today?" Tony asked.

"Well, I said that Jack called you," I told him.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"I didn't say you were living with anyone, if that's what you mean," I said. He laughed.

"She probably already knows that and I'm sure she couldn't care less," Tony said. "So, uh, how are you and Jack fairing with him out in the field today?"

"It's different," I said. "A lot different than Washington."

"Yeah," Tony said. "It is different. To tell you the truth, I couldn't believe it when I heard that Jack had taken a desk job in DC."

"He said he was happier this way," I said, remembering our conversation this morning.

"Uh huh," Tony said, not sounding too convinced. "Well, you've gotten to see him in both worlds today. You think he'll go back to wearing a suit?"

"After the hell jack's been through today, you think he'd want to come back to this?" I asked.

"Some people are more comfortable in hell," Tony said.

"Are you talking about Jack? Or yourself?" I asked. He didn't answer.

"I think we found them!" Edgar yelled. Tony and I hurried over to Edgar's station. Edgar explained how he found where Jack and Paul were. They were only a quarter of a mile away from McLennan Forster. I hoped they were both okay.

"This grid's picking up automatic weapon fire at the sight of the radio transmission," Edgar said.

"How much longer before our teams get there?" I asked.

"The ground teams are close. They'll get there first," Curtis said.

"When?" I asked.

"At least five or six minutes," Curtis said. Everyone gave each other knowing glances. Jack and Paul would probably die before then.

"The gunfire stopped," Edgar said. Oh no. Please don't be dead.

"Are the teams on site?" Curtis asked.

"Not yet," Edgar replied.

"McLennan-Forster commandos could have taken over the location," Curtis said.

"Which means they might have taken the information back from Jack and Paul," Michelle said.

"Try and get in touch with our teams," Curtis told Edgar.

"I'll update division," Michelle said. She walked away.

I turned to Tony. "If McLennan Forster won the fire-fight, what about Jack and Paul?"

"There's no way to tell," Tony said, trying to sugarcoat it. I tried to keep it together and it was hard.

"CTU personnel are approaching the location," Edgar said, a few minutes later.

Over the speakerphone, a man from the ground team spoke to us. "CTU, this is Castle. We're about to engage."

"How many hostiles have been sited?" Curtis asked.

"Six on the outside. Unknown number inside," Castle said.

"Lee, it's Tony. Are Jack and Paul still alive?" Tony asked the man.

"Unknown at this point," Castle said.

"Look, the hostiles can't be allowed to leave the area with the information Jack took from McLennan Forster. Do you understand?" Tony asked.

"We'll do the best we can," Castle said.

"No, Lee, listen to me. Failure is not an option," Tony said. "That information is what this whole thing's about."

"Roger that," Castle replied, before hanging up. We got a call back a minute later. Curtis answered and was talking to Castle again. I braced myself for the news I was so sure was going to come. Curtis hung up.

"Jack's okay," Curtis said. "The team secured the store."

"What about Paul?" I asked.

"Yeah, he's with him," Curtis said. I sighed in relief.

"Did Jack get anything from McLennan Forster?" Tony asked.

"We don't know yet," Curtis said. "We're still cleaning up the area."

I walked to the bathroom where I sighed in relief again thanking God that they were okay. I splashed some water on my face then went back out to get back to work. I felt so much better.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

8:00PM-9:00PM

I started working again but was interrupted by my phone ringing.

"Hello?" I said, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Audrey, it's me," Jack said.

"Ah, Jack," I said, in relief. "Thank god you're alright."

"Audrey, I need you to listen to me," he said. "Paul's been shot."

Oh my god. How could that have happened? They were both supposed to be okay.

"Audrey," Jack said, after a couple seconds. "Audrey!"

"How bad is it?" I asked, trying to hold myself together.

"The medics are working on him," Jack said. "We'll be there in a few minutes."

"Jack, how did this happen?" I asked.

"We were securing the area. One of the gunmen tried to shoot me. Paul pushed me out of the way."

Why would Paul do that? He's always been so concerned about his well-being.

"He saved my life," Jack added. I didn't answer and I came even closer to crying. "Audrey."

"I'm here. I just," I started. "Jack, I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Jack said. "Surgeons have been notified. They're standing by. I want you to know that we're going to do everything we have to. You understand that?"

"Yeah, I understand," I said, biting my nails.

"I'm sorry," Jack said.

"I-I gotta go," I said.

"I'll see you in a minute," Jack said.

"Yeah okay," I said. We hung up. This shouldn't be happening. Jack was supposed to protect him. And, Paul ended up saving Jack instead. I wiped the tears that had fallen from my eyes. I stood up to meet Paul for when the chopper got there.

I saw and heard the helicopter land and knew that it would be impossible for me to keep my emotions in check. The thought of Paul, the man who I had been with for so long and had so many great memories with, dying was just too much to handle.

I ran over to the stretcher that the surgeons were taking him away on. "Paul, Paul, can you hear me?"

He was unconscious. The doctors took him away and went over to Jack.

"I'm sorry," Jack said. I was crying.

"Please tell me he's not going to die," I said.

"Come here," Jack said, pulling me towards him. I let him hug me. I wanted it to feel like it did this morning. But, it didn't. So much had happened.

"Please, Jack, tell me," I begged.

"We don't know. We just don't know," he said. I could tell that he felt horrible for letting this happen to Paul but it didn't make me feel any better. I pulled away and walked away with my father who was standing a little ways behind me. We caught up to the Paul and the surgeons who were about to go prep Paul for surgery.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Raines. But, you have to stay out here while your husband is prepped for surgery," one doctor said.

"Wait, please, can I just talk to him for a second?" I asked. The doctor left so I could. I touched his face and ran my fingers through his hair.

"Paul, hey. Hey, it's Audrey," I said. He needed to know that I might still have feelings for him. "Listen to me. I just want you to know that I'm here, okay? I'm here."

The doctor told me that they needed to go now. "And, I will be here when you get out of surgery. Do you understand me?"

They took him through the double doors and I hugged my father who was still behind me. I let him go and started pacing.

_I was laying in the grass outside our house looking up at the stars when Paul got home._

_ "Audrey, what are you doing out here?" he asked, kneeling down next to me. "It's freezing."_

_ "I just had a stressful day," I said._

_ "Come inside, love," he said._

_ "Maybe in a little while," I said. Paul stood up and went inside. I assumed he was watching television by now. But, a couple minutes later he came outside with a big blanket and a thermos. He laid down next to me and put the blanket over us._

_ "I brought some hot cocoa too," he said. "What happened today?"_

_ I sat up to take a sip of the hot chocolate and he put his arm around me and pulled me in close. I told him all about my day and all the work I had to get done and how nothing seemed to turn out right._

_ "I'm sorry, Audrey," Paul said. I smiled at him._

_ "Thanks," I said. We stayed outside and looked at the stars all night with his arm around me, and my head resting on his chest._

"Ms. Raines," a doctor said coming out of the double doors. "Your husband sustained bullet wounds to his chest and abdomen. Now, we were able to extract one of the bullets but I called in a neurosurgeon in from Cedars to extract the second bullet."

"Why a neurosurgeon?" dad asked.

"The bullet is lodged against his T5 vertebra and we want to be careful to avoid any further spinal trauma," the doctor explained.

"I can't believe this is happening," I said, going over to a chair to sit down.

"I'll let you know as soon as I get any news on his condition," the doctor said.

"Thank you," dad said. The doctor left. Dad sat down next to me. I was crying. Paul couldn't die.

"Dad, I don't think I realized how much I care for Paul until now," I said. He didn't say anything for a minute.

"I know this is terrible timing," dad said. "But, the president's called and I have to leave."

No. Not now. I can't do this alone. There's nobody else here that I know. Well, except for Jack. But, I definitely didn't want him to be with me right now.

"You'll be able to reach me on my number," he said. "The doctors will keep me up to speed here."

"Okay," I said, knowing that he couldn't just ignore the President. He put his arm around me.

"I love you, Audrey," he said. "And, I'm proud to be your dad."

He kissed my forehead. "I love you too."

He stood up and I wiped my eyes. When he got to the door, I whispered, "Be careful."

And, then he was gone. And, I was alone. What had happened to make me think I didn't love Paul anymore? I honestly couldn't remember anymore. All our fighting seemed so stupid now. Maybe I should've tried harder to fix things between us. Maybe I gave up too quickly.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

9:00PM-10:00PM

I was at a loss of what to do. Waiting here was killing me. I figured I should see how the search for the override is going. Maybe they already found it. As soon as I saw Michelle and Tony I could tell something was wrong.

"Excuse me," I said, interrupting them.

"How's Paul?" Tony asked.

"He's still in surgery," I said. "I won't know until he gets out. Have you heard anything from Jack?"

Tony looked at Michelle. Something was going on.

"Jack's missing," Michelle said.

"Missing?" I asked.

"We think he was taken by Habib Marwan," Michelle said. Oh god, not Jack too.

"Oh my god," I let slip. "What are we doing to get him back?"

"Everything we can," Michelle said.

"How did this happen?" I asked. Could he be dead? I loved him too much to see him die. "I thought we were tracking him. He was supposed to be protected."

"No one is fully protected in the field," Michelle said.

"Who is in charge of this operation?" I asked.

"I was," Michelle said.

"Get him back, Michelle," I said before walking back to the waiting area.

_I rolled over reaching for the body that wasn't there. "Jack?"_

_ There was no answer. Instead I felt something in his place. I opened my eyes. Before me was a bouquet of roses and a long box. On top was a note:_

_ Audrey,_

_Happy Birthday, beautiful. Sorry, your father called me in to work real quick. I'll be back in a couple hours._

_ -Jack_

_ I picked up the box and shook it gently. Jewelry of some sort. I wanted to open it but decided to wait for Jack to get home first. I got up and put my flowers in a vase with water. When Jack got home, I ran to greet him at the door. He hugged me and said happy birthday. I kissed him._

_ "Sorry, I wasn't here," he said._

_ "It's okay," I said. "I haven't opened my present yet. I thought I would wait until you got here."_

_ I took his hand and led him to the bedroom where the box was still sitting on the bed. I unwrapped it, revealing a box. When I opened the box, there was a silver necklace with a heart shaped pendant hanging off of it._

_ "Jack, it's beautiful!" I said, kissing him to thank him. "Help me put it on?"_

_ He took it from my hands and I turned around. He moved my hair to one side and put the necklace around my neck. As his hands fumbled with the clasp, I felt a shiver go up my spine. It was amazing the effect he had on me._

I was wearing that necklace today. I played with it while I waited for news about either Jack or Paul. After a while, there was still no news. I went back out on the floor and found Tony who was talking to Curtis.

"Tony," I said. Curtis left. "Have you heard anything on Jack?"

"Yeah, we just got some information a couple minutes ago," he said.

"Why didn't you let me know?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, Audrey," he said. "But, things are going pretty fast here. Look Jack's alive, but he is being held by Marwan."

"How did you confirm that?" I asked.

"Marwan contacted us," he said.

"He contacted you?" I asked. "Why would he do that?"

"He wants to make a trade," Tony said. "Jack for Behrooz."

"When is that going to happen?" I asked.

"Well, we don't know if it is going to happen," Tony said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Look if he wants to make this trade, it means Behrooz has tactical value. If that's the case, we may have to hold onto him."

I sighed. They would leave Jack to die. How could they? He has helped them so much today.

"Look, there's a lot of stuff we have to go over before this happens," Tony said. "I'll keep you posted, but right now I have to get in that room with Behrooz, alright?"

Tony walked away. "Thank you."

If my feelings about Jack and Paul weren't messed up before, they certainly were now. They were both in critical states. I loved Paul. He and I had so much time together. But, Jack made me feel so amazing. I loved him too. Differently though. It's like when I used to ask my mom whom she loved more: my brother or me. She would say she loved us equally but differently. I never understood that until now.

I heard the door open and Chloe walked in. She walked over to me.

"Chloe, what's wrong?" I asked, sitting up in my chair.

"Nothing," Chloe said. "I mean there's no bad news about Jack yet if that's what you're asking."

Thank god.

Chloe continued. "Since, your father and Jack aren't here, you're the official DOD representative. So, these are some standard non-disclosures. Just read them whenever you get the chance. I flagged where you need to sign."

"I'll do that then," I said. I stood up and got a pen from the front medical desk.

"I'm really sorry about your husband," Chloe said.

"Thank you," I said. I opened the file Chloe had handed me and started signing.

"I can't imagine how I'd be feeling if I were you," Chloe said.

"I feel like someone who's afraid of losing her husband," I said.

"No, I meant you and your husband are separated and you fall in love with Jack, I guess. And, then they end up together. And, your husband takes a bullet to save Jack's life. I mean what do you do with that?"

"I can't think about that right now, Chloe, okay?" I said. "I just need Paul to pull through this."

"And, what about Jack?" Chloe asked. "You just assume the terrorists aren't going to kill him?"

As if I wasn't already scared about that. "Chloe, I don't want to talk about it. Here."

I gave her the papers. Jack and Paul were going to die and I'd be all alone.

"I was inappropriately blunt, wasn't I?" Chloe asked. I looked into the window where Paul's surgery was going on. "I do that a lot."

I didn't answer. I needed Paul to be okay. I needed Jack to be okay. And, then I would deal with the rest.

"Sorry," Chloe said. "Sorry, I'm going to go. I have to go to a field meeting anyway."

I heard her leave but I was still checking in on Paul. Things seemed to be running smoothly. I decided to check on what was going on with Jack again and went to the floor and found Tony.

"Hey, is this briefing about the trade for Jack?" I asked.

"Yeah Marwan called us again," Tony said.

"Has the decision been made to go through with it or not?" I asked, trying not to let my emotions get in the way.

"No, that's going to be decided in this meeting," Tony said.

"By whom?" I asked.

"Division," Tony said. "Look, they sent someone down to run point."

"Is he thinking of not going through with this exchange?" I asked.

"Honestly," Tony started. "It could go either way. But, I don't have to tell you that Jack would want us to do what's best for the operation and this country. Not what's best for him."

"I know," I agreed. It didn't mean I had to like it.

"I'll let you know what's going on as soon as I can," Tony said.

"Thanks Tony," I said. He left for the meeting. I prayed to God that they would get Jack back. I went back to medical.

About five minutes later, someone finally came out with an update.

"Ms. Raines," the woman said. "The doctor wanted me to tell you that your husband should be out of surgery within the next hour."

"How is it going?" I asked.

"That's all he said," the woman said.

"Thank you," I said. Then, Tony came in.

"Audrey," Tony said. "Any word on Paul?"

"We still don't know yet," I said.

"Look I thought you'd want to know," Tony said. "We've decided to go ahead with the exchange. We're getting Behrooz ready right now."

"It's not going to be as simple as that is it?" I asked.

"These things are never simple, but if Marwan really wants the kid he has no reason to hurt Jack," Tony said.

"And, if he doesn't and it's just a trap?" I asked.

"We'll be prepared," Tony assured me. "Our field agents will have the area fully covered."

"Tony, will you be there?" I asked.

"No, I'm going to be running point from here," he said. He could tell that wasn't comforting to me. "But, Curtis will be on the ground."

"Is the operational objective to get Jack?" I asked, even though I knew the answer.

"No," Tony said. "It isn't."

He walked closer to me. "Audrey, we have to consider Jack expendable."

I started to cry. Jack wasn't expendable to me.

Tony said, "This whole thing is about creating an exposure point for Marwan."

"I know," I said, leaning my head back. "Thank you for being straight with me, Tony."

"Look, Jack's about the only friend I have left," Tony said. "So, I'm going to do everything I can to keep him safe. Alright?"

I nodded.

"Okay," Tony said. He walked away and I leaned up against the wall and fought back tears.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

10:00PM-11:00PM

"Ms. Raines?" a nurse asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Your husband is out of surgery now," she said. "He's going to make it. The doctor will have more information for you in a couple minutes."

"Thank you," I sighed in relief. The woman left and I could only think about Jack now. Had they made the exchange? Were they going to?

My cell rang and I answered. "Hello?"

"Audrey, I have Jack on the line," Chloe said on the other end. Oh thank god he was okay. But, I didn't know if I could talk to him. I didn't know what to say. "Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," I said.

"Hold for Jack," Chloe said. I waited.

"Audrey?" Jack said.

"Jack," I said. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "How's Paul doing?"

"They just finished operating. They said he's going to make it," I told him. "I'm waiting to talk to the doctors."

"Good," Jack said. "I'm glad.

"Look, Audrey, I know we have to talk about how I handled everything with Paul."

"Yeah, we do," I said. "It's just really hard right now."

"Yeah I understand," Jack said.

"Are you still out in the field?" I asked, hoping he would come back so we could talk.

"Yeah, we're getting ready to move on Marwan," Jack answered.

"Be careful," I begged.

"Yeah, I'll call you as soon as it's done," Jack said.

"Yeah," I said. "Right."

We hung up. I waited for only a couple more minutes until the doctor came out.

"Mrs. Raines," he said.

"Yes," I answered.

"Your husband's in recovery," the doctor said.

"How is he?" I asked.

"He's stable but one of the bullets did some damage to his spine," the doctor said. "Right now, he's paralyzed from the waist down."

"Is it permanent?" I asked, hoping for a no.

"It's too early to tell," the doctor said. "It'll be weeks, maybe months, before we fully understand the extent of damage to his spine."

"So, it's possible that he could regain the use of his legs," I said, trying to be optimistic.

"It's possible, yes," the doctor said. But, his face said otherwise.

"But, not likely," I finished for him.

"Again, it's too early to tell," the doctor said. I turned around trying not to cry. "We could go over the details later. But, I'd be lying to you if I told you I was optimistic. A lot depends on his attitude, his support system, emotional as well as medical."

I looked over at Paul who was lying in a hospital bed in the opposite room. He might never walk again. And, it's all because he was trying to protect Jack who he knew I loved. I promised myself that I would do whatever I could to help him get full use of his legs again.

"Does he know?" I asked.

"Yes, I just told him," the doctor said. "I'm sure he'd like to see you."

"Thank you," I said quietly before the doctor left. I took a moment to compose myself and walked into the next room.

"Excuse me, can you give us a minute please?" I asked the nurse who was in the room. Paul opened his eyes and the nurse left. I smiled at him a little.

"Oh no. Don't you go feeling sorry for me," Paul said. "Whatever they say, I'm going to walk again."

"I know you will," I said. I pulled a chair next to his bed.

"So where's Jack?" he asked.

"He's still out in the field," I said. "He called a little while ago. He wanted to know how you were doing. He knows that bullet was meant for him."

"I was just trying to push him out of the way," Paul said. "I didn't expect to get shot myself."

"What you did was very, very brave, Paul," I said. I picked up his hand and put it to my face. I kissed it and held it. Paul fell asleep quite quickly. I sat with him for a while thinking about our relationship, not exactly sure what I was going to do about all of this yet.

Tony came in about half an hour later. Something was obviously wrong. My mind raced as I thought about what horrible thing could have happened to Jack. "Hey, can I talk to you?"

I nodded and walked out of the room behind Tony. "What's up? Is everything okay?"

"I know Paul just got out of surgery but we need all hands on deck here," Tony said.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"There's going to be an attack on Air Force One," Tony said. I stared at him in disbelief. I must've missed a lot. Tony filled in the details about Jack finding a plan for a stealth fighter, which is meant to shoot down the President's plane.

"I'll get back to work," I told him. He turned away to leave and said a quick 'thanks'. "Wait! Is Jack okay?"

"Yeah," Tony said. I sighed in relief and went back next to Paul whose eyes were now open.

"How're you feeling?" I asked.

"A little better I guess," Paul said.

"I'm sorry," I said. "But, I have to do some work right now. I'll come see you as soon as I can."

"Well, I'll be right here," Paul joked. "As if I have a choice."

A doctor came in. "Paul, I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"What kind of bad news?" I asked.

"We're going to have to run some tests. The bullet might have done more damage than we originally thought. Depending on the results we might have to bring you back into surgery," the doctor said. "I'll have someone come in to run the tests in a couple minutes."

The doctor left and I smiled sadly.

"It's okay," Paul assured me. "You go get some work done while I take some tests. It'll be okay."

I squeezed his hand before going back to the floor. I called DOD to warn them about what was going on with Air Force One. Everyone was working frantically. Satellites were up on every computer.

But, everyone stopped when it was confirmed. Air Force One had been hit.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

11:00PM-12:00AM

Michelle was frantically asking Chloe what she saw on the radar when I walked in with my laptop. Chloe said that Air Force One was down, which was quickly confirmed over the radio.

"I just got a confirm of scatter ground flashes from DOD satellite," I said. Edgar pulled it up on his screen and I had it on mine too. I saw Jack run in and he immediately went over to Bill.

"Anybody track sub channel com-sat?" Jack asked.

"No," Michelle answered.

"Secret Service has at least five personnel on board. All of them have private channels," Jack said. Jack made a phone call to send out a signal to the Secret Service. Someone actually answered.

"This is Channel Three," he said.

"Who's this?" Jack asked.

"Patterson," the man said. "We're down."

"What is the status of the President?" Jack asked.

"I-I don't know. I can't move yet," Patterson said.

"Agent Patterson, my name is Jack Bauer," Jack said. "I'm with CTU. Rescue units are on route. What else can you tell me?"

"I see some bodies," Patterson said. "I think we have some survivors."

I got up to call my father and told him about what had happened. When we hung up I found Jack talking to Michelle.

"Jack," I said. "I'm sorry to interrupt you. But, I just got off the phone with the Secretary of Defense and right now there's a higher priority than finding Marwan."

"What is it?" he asked.

"Recovering the nuclear football," I said.

"Didn't it go down with Air Force One?" Michelle asked.

"Not exactly," I explained. "The missile inflicted enough damage that the plane left a trail of debris as it went down. A lot of things were sucked out. Including the football. And, there's a transponder embedded in the casing. So, we know its exact location."

"Well, good. Then the retrieval team should have no problem recovering it," Jack said.

"The Secretary wants you to head up that team, Jack," I told him.

"Why?" Jack asked.

"It's top priority," I explained. "That case contains the codes and locations of our entire nuclear arsenal. Nothing is more critical than getting it back as quickly as possible."

"Fine," Jack said.

"I'll organize your team and mobilizing units," Michelle said, leaving us alone.

"What's the location of the football," Jack asked.

"Forty miles northeast of here in the desert," I said. He nodded and didn't say anything. I started to walk away.

"Hey, hey," Jack said. I turned back around. "What's wrong? What else is happening?"

"Paul may have to go back into surgery," I told him. "Apparently the bullet may have done more damage than they thought."

"I'm sorry," Jack said, almost in a whisper.

"I keep thinking if I had handled things differently, if I had trusted him more-" I started.

"Audrey, you are not responsible for this," Jack interrupted. "I, and I alone, made the decision on how to handle Paul. If you want to remain effective and be able to do your job, you have to let it go."

"Jack, that's your gift," I said. He really didn't understand how hard that was. "You're able to block things out. I can't do that."

"Jack," Edgar yelled over to him, before he could respond. "The chopper's waiting."

"I have to change and get ready," Jack said.

"Alright," I said. Jack walked past me. I was losing him. I could feel it and it felt like needles were being stabbed into my heart. I wondered if he felt anything at all. I sat down at a desk and got back to work, while my mind continually reminded me of everything that had happened today. I couldn't understand how Jack could do it. How could he just push through all of this without a second thought? Eventually, we got an update. President Keeler was alive.

My phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," Jack said on the other line.

"Hey," I said.

"Look when I walked away from you at CTU, I felt like you didn't understand what I was trying to say," Jack said. "I'm not telling you that you shouldn't care. I care. I care about you. I care about what happened to Paul. I feel completely responsible for it. But, right now this country is under attack and I've got a job to do and I don't have a choice."

"Jack, I understand that what you have to do is very important," I told him. And, I did. His loyalty was one of the things I loved about him.

"I just didn't want us to leave things like that," Jack said.

"I'm glad," I said. "Me neither."

There was a small beep that came from his phone. "Audrey, hold on a second. I have to take this call."

"Wait, Jack. Take the call," I said. "Alright? Stay focused on what you have to do."

"Okay," he said. "I'll talk to you in a little while."

We hung up. I was happy that he had called. We would be okay. After everything was over, we would talk and we'd be fine. I was sure of it. I found out a minute later that someone had found the football. Jack was on his way to meet them. It was only a matter of minutes before I got a call from Edgar saying that Jack was on the line.

"Jack," I said, picking up the phone.

"Audrey," Jack said. "I'm taking fire. The other agent's been killed. I need the last code for the football now."

"Alright," I said. "Hang on."

I looked it up as fast as I could, praying that Jack would be okay.

"Jack," I said when I found it. "Star-seven-six-one-one-four."

"I got it," Jack said. He hung up without saying anything more. I hoped that those weren't the last words I'd ever hear from him.

"Be careful," I said quietly into the phone, knowing he wasn't on the line anymore and couldn't hear me. Tony walked by my desk and I stopped him.

"What's going on with Jack?" I asked.

"The man who found the football was hunted down by the terrorists. Jack has to get to the man before the terrorists do," Tony said.

"How many of them do you think there are?" I asked.

"I don't know," Tony said, apologetically.

"Jack's going up against them by himself," I said.

"Yeah," Tony said. "The teams can't get out there. But, Jack can hold his own. He'll be fine."

"Thanks," I said. I was glad Tony was here. I don't know what I would've done, if Tony hadn't been telling me what was going on with Jack and whether he was going to be okay or not. I would've gone crazy.

I got back to work. Tony came back about ten minutes later.

"Audrey," Tony said. "Jack and I need your help."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Jack recovered the football," Tony said. "But, there were pages missing in the playbook."

Tony told me which sections and I looked up what information was in them. The results were horrifying. Tony called Jack back once we found out.

"Yeah?" Jack answered.

"Jack, it's Tony," Tony said.

"Is Audrey there?" he asked.

"Jack, I'm here," I said.

"Tell me what the contents are of the missing pages," he said.

"Jack, it's the red section which contains warhead locations and activation codes," I told him.

"But, we started canceling the activation codes as soon as Air Force One went down," Jack said.

"Yes," I said. "But, there are thousands of warheads. It's going to take an hour to clear the slate.

"Jack, in the meantime, if they get a hold of a warhead and a matching activation code we will not be able to stop them."

"Copy that," Jack said. "I'll get back to you."

Just when I thought this day was finally getting better.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

12:00AM- 1:00AM

I went back to medical to check on Paul. He was still in surgery. A doctor noticed me standing outside and came out.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Well the repairs are going fairly well," the doctor said. "But, Paul is very unstable. So far he's pulled through; we just have to hope he continues to."

I nodded. "Thanks."

The doctor went back in with Paul. I held back my tears. He would be fine. As I walked down the hall back to the floor my phone rang.

"This is Audrey," I answered.

"Hey it's me," Jack replied.

"Hey are you on your way back here?" I asked.

"Yeah," Jack answered. "How much of the weaponry has been accounted for so far?"

"Seventy-two percent," I said. "We're having problems getting confirmations from the Mid-West."

"Why?" Jack asked.

"There are several convoys shipping weapons to be dismantled in accordance with the Arms Reduction Treaty. A lot of them were rerouted after the train bombing this morning."

"Just use local channels," Jack suggested. "All weapons transports have to check in with regional substations. Just call them directly."

"Alright, I'll do that."

"How you holding up?" he asked.

"I'm okay," I said, after a few seconds.

"What have the doctors told you about Paul?" Jack asked.

I waited and tried to keep my composure. "They're having a hard time keeping him stable."

"Just hang in there. He'll fight through it," Jack tried to convince me.

"Yeah," I said, not feeling at all convinced.

"Tell Michelle I'll be there in twenty minutes," Jack said. I said goodbye and hung up.

When I passed Michelle on my way to my computer I told her that Jack would be here in twenty. I sat down and started called the substations that Jack mentioned.

_I heard a knock on my office door followed by Jack walking in. I was on the phone and Jack sat down across from me patiently. I smiled at him._

_ "Thanks. I'll let him know," I said before hanging up._

_ "Who was that?" Jack asked._

_ "Senator Davis's office," I answered. "Needed to change the time of the meeting tomorrow."_

_ Jack looked at me but said nothing. "Did you need something?"_

_ "You have no idea how late it is do you?" Jack asked._

_ I looked at my watch. It was almost eleven. "Sorry. You didn't have to wait for me, you know."_

_ I walked around my desk and sat on Jack's lap, straddling him. I kissed him passionately._

_ "I did if I wanted to spend the night with you," Jack said, his lips trailing down my neck._

_ "Maybe I should get you a key, then," I suggested. It made sense. He practically lived with me anyways. He kissed my lips again in agreement._

But, the news I got kicked me out of my thoughts. A convoy was missing. I went upstairs and found Bill, Michelle, and Tony in a conference room.

"Bill excuse me," I said, walking in, Edgar following behind. Bill turned down the television, which had Charles Logan's public address on it. "There's a convoy missing."

"What?" Bill asked.

"It was heading from Illinois to Jefferson City, Iowa. It disappeared just inside the border."

"Disappeared?" Bill asked.

"The trucks were due to call in every twenty minutes," Edgar said. "They didn't. I tried to reach them on com-sat; there was no reply."

"How about satellite?" Bill asked.

"Nothing's showing up," I said.

"What was on the trucks?" Bill asked.

"A nuclear warhead," I answered. Everyone sat in shock, but only for a minute before getting back to work. I went back to looking at satellites wondering when Jack would get here.

I finally saw Jack and went over to him. "Hey, when did you get back?"

"A few minutes ago," he said. He thanked a man who gave him a black case.

"Good. I could use your help on the DOD interphase," I said.

"I can't help you right now, Audrey," Jack said. "I'm sorry."

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'll tell you when I get back," Jack said.

"Jack," I begged. He walked away without saying anything. "Jack!"

"Audrey please," he said without turning back. I let him leave. Was he doing something dangerous? Something that could get him killed? I hated not knowing. I hated even more that he wouldn't tell me.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

1:00 AM-2:00AM

I found out about a man, Joseph Prado, who CTU had just been released from custody because they were not allowed to question him. There was no doubt in my mind that whatever Jack was doing had something to do with him. And, my suspicions were almost confirmed when I found out that he was in medical. I looked at his file then went into the adjacent room where Bill was talking on the phone.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Prado talked," Bill said.

"Who did this?" I asked.

"Audrey," Bill said, begging me not to ask.

"I'm a representative of DOD. I have a right to know, Bill," I said. He thought about it. "Did Jack do this?"

"Yes he did," Bill said. "It was the only way to get him to give up Marwan's location."

"So President Logan gave Jack the authority to use force?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"No Audrey," Bill said. "The president didn't."

"Where's Jack now?" I asked.

"He's prepping a team to apprehend Marwan," Bill said. I walked past him and found Jack.

"What is it?" Jack asked, walking over to me. I couldn't believe he did this.

"I just came from the clinic where they're treating Prado from multiple injuries," I said.

"Audrey, what did you expect me to do?" Jack asked. "Marwan has a nuclear warhead and he's going to use it unless we find him first."

"I understand the situation, Jack," I said, coldly.

"Then you get that what I did was absolutely necessary," Jack said. "At least now we know where he is."

"Logan gave you a direct order not to use extreme interrogation methods without his authorization," I said. "Jack, you are acting against the president."

I could understand that the situation was dire. But, what about the rules? They were there for a reason. Yes, Jack was right about Prado having information but there had been no evidence against him. I bet he would interrogate me right now if someone said I was connected to Marwan. I just couldn't get it.

"I know," Jack said.

Curtis opened the door from the prep-room. "Jack, we're set."

"Be right there," Jack answered him. He turned back to me. "Look, I've got to go."

"Jack, you can't keep working outside the line and not expect consequences," I said.

"Trust me. No one knows the consequences better than me," Jack said. "No one."

"Jack," I begged. But, he walked away. That was twice in the past ten minutes. Jack could be arrested. We could never see each other again. But, he didn't care about that anymore. I went looking for Bill and eventually found him.

"Bill," I said. "How could you let Jack torture Prado?"

He tried to grab my arm to bring me to a conference room. I instinctively pulled it away. "Audrey, it had to be done," Bill said.

"The president made it very clear that he didn't want Prado's rights violated," I said.

"That's right," Bill said. "He did make it clear. But, he was wrong."

"We can't just break protocol because we think it's right at the time and expect to get away with it," I said.

"Normally, I'd agree with you," Bill said. "But, in this case I'd rather ask for forgiveness than permission."

"What kind of answer is that?" I asked.

"The answer is, it worked," Bill said. "We got Marwan's location."

I turned around angrier now than before.

"Audrey," Bill said. "With all due respect, this is not Washington DC. Policy and politics don't always work on the front line which is where we are today."

"Yeah, well, Charles Logan is a politician and he's not going to give you forgiveness," I said. "I hope this doesn't come back to haunt you or Jack."

"If what we did gets us to Marwan, we'll live with it," Bill said. He left before I could say anything, which I was thankful for. I didn't know how to respond to that.

I went down to medical to check on Paul. Thankfully, he was stable and had been since I last checked on him. I sat down in a chair outside and thought about Jack. I couldn't stop thinking about the horrible things Jack must've done to get Prado to talk. I tried convincing myself that it was completely necessary but couldn't. Jack thought it was necessary to torture Paul, but he was wrong. How could he have known that he was right about Prado?

He couldn't have. I had read about Jack's long history of insubordination. I heard about the terrible things he had to do in order to get his job done. But, seeing it was different. I thought he was different now. Didn't he just tell me this morning that he didn't miss fieldwork? That he liked being able to have a relationship with me more than doing fieldwork? Apparently not. I hated to admit it but I couldn't deny that it was probably over between us.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

2:00AM-3:00AM

"Ms. Raines," the doctor said. "Paul's surgery went well. He's in recovery now if you'd like to see him. However, I think it'd be a good idea for Paul to be moved to Amherst General Spinal Program. They specialize in cases like Paul's and would be able to help him more than we can."

He handed me their number. I thanked him. I was about to call when I remembered that air travel had been disallowed since the President's plane went down. I called the FAA to see if the ban had been lifted. It hadn't. I went in to see Paul.

"Hey," I said, grabbing a chair. "Dr. Besson wants to move you to Amherst General Spinal Program but the FAA still has a ban on air travel. I'm trying to get you an exemption."

"Well, if anyone can get an exemption, you can," Paul said.

I put my hand on his arm. "Listen, I've thought a lot about this and I want to go with you to Massachusetts."

"With me?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said. "You need to get better and you shouldn't have to do that alone."

"I can take care of myself," Paul said. "I don't need your charity."

"It's not about charity, Paul. It's what I want to do," I said. It was my boyfriend he tried to save that got him here.

"What about Jack?" he asked. "You said you were in love with him."

"I know," I said. I wasn't sure if I still was. Maybe I just needed sometime away from him for a while.

The door opened. Speak of the devil. Jack walked in. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll come back later."

"No it's alright," Paul said. "Come in."

Jack turned back into the room and walked closer. "I thought you'd be at the DOD briefing."

"Yeah it ended early," I said.

"Oh," Jack said. He turned to Paul. "I just came down to see how you're doing. I've been trying to get down here since you got out of surgery.

"Listen, Paul, please," Jack said, trying to apologize.

"You don't have to say anything," Paul said.

"Yeah I do," Jack said. "You saved my life."

"I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Paul said. "That's all."

"You pushed me out of the way," Jack said.

"Honestly, I wasn't even thinking. It just happened," Paul said. Paul grimaced in pain.

"Paul," I said, making sure he was okay. "You alright?"

Paul nodded. There was a knock on the door. Bill was outside.

"I'll check back on you later," Jack said. He left the room.

"Does he know that you want to come with me?" Paul asked.

"Not yet," I said.

"Shouldn't you tell him?" Paul asked.

"I'll get to it," I said. Paul looked at me questioningly. "He's been busy."

I didn't feel so sure about leaving Jack. Things had been great between us. It could be fixed, right? But ever since Jack tortured Paul, things were different. Paul was no longer the bad guy; Jack was.

I sat with Paul, getting up every once in a while to see if I could get the FAA to pull some strings. Eventually I got through to them and they agreed to help us.

"Hey," I said, sitting down next to Paul who was starting to fall asleep. I put my hand on his shoulder. "The FAA has cleared us to leave at eight o'clock on a medical transport plane. Dr. Besson's agreed to accompany us."

"That's great news," Paul said.

"As soon as you settle in, I'll start looking for an apartment," I said.

"I don't know what to say," Paul said. I touched his cheek. "I'm going to get through this."

"I know you will," I said.

My phone rang and I smiled at Paul before getting it.

"Raines," I answered. It was the FAA with our flight information. I started writing down the information the man gave me but then there was beeping. I could no longer hear the man. I looked up at the machine that showed Paul's heart rate skyrocket. I turned around and saw Paul gasping for air. I hung up the phone and went over to him.

"Paul?" I said, begging him to be okay. "Paul, what is it? Paul?"

I called for Dr. Besson who came running in. He ordered the nurse to give him something.

"He just started gasping. I don't know what's going on," I panicked.

"We need to do an ultrasound, but all signs point to a cardiac tamponade," Besson said.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"The sac around his heart is filling up with blood," the doctor explained as he worked. "We can drain out some of the fluid but we need to get him back to surgery now."

I went around the nurse and tried to calm Paul down. They wheeled him back to the operating room. I couldn't believe this was happening. I followed them and watched through the window of the room. It seemed to be going well. All of a sudden Jack came running down the hallway with a man on a gurney.

"Jack, what's going on?" I asked. He ignored me and barged through the doors of the OR.

"You can't come in here," Besson said.

"He's dying," Jack replied.

"So is he. Get out of here," Besson said. "I just started this operation."

"This man is our only connection to a stolen nuclear warhead, you've got to save him now."

"I'll get to him as soon as I can," the doctor answered.

"He's not going to make it," Jack yelled.

"I already have a patient," Besson said. I watched through the window, hoping that Besson wouldn't just stop operating on Paul.

"Curtis," Jack said. Curtis went over to the man on the gurney and took over the CPR. Jack went over to the doctor. He pulled out his gun and pointed it at Besson's head. "You have a new one."

"Are you crazy?" Besson asked.

"Maybe you didn't understand me," Jack said. I pushed through the doors, angry with Jack for trying to stop Dr. Besson from saving Paul. "This is the only man who can help us find a missing warhead and stop it from being detonated. If you don't save him, millions of people will die. Do you understand that? Millions of people.

"Start working on him now!" Jack yelled. How could he do this? After Paul saved his life.

"Jack, what are you doing?" I asked.

"If I walk away from Mr. Raines now he will die," Besson said.

"You don't know that for sure," Jack said. I was crying now.

"Jack!" I yelled.

"Do it," he said to Besson. "Now!"

Besson walked away from the table.

"Please, please don't do this," I begged. I watched as Besson went to Jack's patient. Jack kept his gun trained on him.

"His lungs are damaged," Besson said. "He's lost a lot of blood."

"All I need you to do is stabilize him so I can talk to him," Jack said. "Can you do that?"

"Maybe," Besson said.

"Then do it," Jack said. Besson called a nurse over to him. One less person keeping Paul alive.

"Jack," I begged. He only glanced over at me for a second. "Jack!"

"I have my orders, I'm doing my job," Jack yelled at me. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" I asked. I walked over to him and pulled down on his arms to make him lower his gun. "You're letting him die!"

"Get her off of me now!" Jack said. Two men pulled me back. How could he do this?

"Jack, stop!" I repeated over and over again as they pulled me away. "He saved your life!"

Jack's eyes stayed focused on his patient. The two men let me go on the opposite side of the room.

"Jack, stop. Listen to me. Stop this!" I begged. "Jack, please please. I'm begging you. Stop!"

I yelled at the men to let go of me again as they tried to bring me out of the room. Paul's machine started to beep.

"Jack, Paul's crashing," Curtis said. "Starting CPR."

Jack put the gun down and ran over to Paul. "What can we do for him?"

"He's in defib," Besson said. "Use a defibrillator."

Jack went over to it and started using it on Paul. Nothing changed. He tried again. Still nothing. There was nothing else to do. He was dead. Jack kept trying CPR but it was no use. I cried even more. This was all Jack's fault. I ran over to him.

"You son of a bitch, Jack! You son of a bitch!" I yelled as I slapped him across the face. "You killed him! He saved your life!"

The two men dragged me away again. I kept yelling at Jack. "You killed him! I hate you, Jack! You killed him! How could you do this?"

They finally pulled me completely out of the room. I cried hysterically.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

3:00AM-4:00AM

I stood outside the operating room crying. I couldn't help but think of Paul. How great our relationship used to be and what happened that made us grow apart. I noticed Jack leave the operating room. He stood a few feet away from me and I ignored him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. I ignored him and kept crying. "I'm so sorry."

"How could you?" I managed to say. I meant for it to be louder, angrier even but it came out just above a whisper. He didn't say anything and I stepped towards him. "How could you kill him, Jack? How could you do it?"

I put my hands on his chest, wishing that this was all just one horrible nightmare.

"Come here," Jack said, trying to hug me. I tried to resist but I was too tired. I hugged him back and cried into his shoulder. How could I be so angry with him and still feel so at ease in his arms? I shouldn't and it made me sick that I did.

"No, Jack, I can't be near you, right now," I said, pushing away from him. I went to the opposite wall and turned away from Jack. I cried and I could feel Jack still lingering right behind me. He finally walked towards the door.

"Please Audrey," he said, begging me not to hate him. "Just tell me what you want me to do."

There was nothing. Nothing would fix this. "Leave. I want you to leave, Jack."

I heard the door shut behind him. The worst part was that I still loved Jack. I hated myself for it. I took a deep breath a wiped away my tears. I tried to remember all the reasons I hated Paul. I had to get back to work and I couldn't do it if I was thinking about him.

I sat down at a computer. Of course, Jack walked over.

"Audrey, I'm sorry to bother you," Jack said. "I need you to call Marcy. Authorize a block transfer. I need all pertinent DOD databases sent over here to CTU."

"Were you able to keep Lee alive?" I asked, ignoring his request.

"Yeah he's stabilized," Jack said. I didn't know how to feel about that. I was happy that Paul at least died for a reason. But, I would have preferred it if Paul stayed alive.

"Alright," I said. "I'll call Marcy."

"Thank you," Jack said quietly. I picked up the phone and called her. I told her what Jack needed and hung up. I sat quietly, trying to focus on my work but was bombarded by thoughts of Paul. And Jack. I rested my head on my hands, praying this day would be over soon. Jack came over a few minutes later.

"Com just confirmed we got the data from Marcy. Thank you," Jack said.

"You're welcome," I said, barely looking up at him before looking back at my paperwork. He stayed for a moment before turning away. Then, changed his mind and turned back.

"Audrey, you should get some rest," Jack said.

"With everything that's going on I can't," I said.

"You could go back to the hotel," Jack said.

"Jack, please don't tell me what to do," I said, standing up.

"Audrey," Jack said.

"What?" I asked, after a few seconds of silence. "Jack, what do you want from me? You made a choice to kill Paul, and I'm trying to deal with it. We both have a job; let's just do it."

I walked away from him. I went back to the desk once Jack was gone and got back to work. I got up again a little while later to get a file, but Curtis stopped me.

"Audrey," Curtis said.

"Yes?"

"The investigator from the Chinese Consulate wants to talk to you," Curtis said. This had to be about Jack invading the Consulate to get Lee. The reason Paul was dead.

"Why does he want to talk with me?" I asked.

"In order to protect Jack's cover, we put together some new hourlies for him to look at," Curtis said. "It showed you and Jack working together at the time of the ambush."

"Buchanan wants me to lie to the Chinese to protect Jack?" I asked.

"Not to protect Jack," Curtis replied. "To protect the United States government."

I'm not usually a good liar to begin with. Never mind lying when I'm angry. But, the fall back on the US was too risky for me not to do it.

"Is that going to be a problem?" Curtis asked.

"Where are the hourlies?" I asked.

"Edgar's sending them to your system," Curtis said.

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this Curtis," I said honestly.

"I understand," Curtis said. "But whatever you decide, you're still going to have to talk to Cheng."

Curtis walked away. I looked over to the conference room where a Chinese man, presumably Cheng, was pacing. The hourlies uploaded onto my screen and I read them over. I saw Jack come onto the floor and I walked over to him.

"What's happening?" I asked.

"Lee gave us a probable location on Marwan," Jack said. "We're getting ready to move in on it now."

"I'm getting called in for questioning," I said.

"By who?" Jack asked.

"Cheng from the Chinese Consulate," I told him.

He grabbed my arm and started leading me away from where we were standing. "Come here."

"Why you?" he asked as we walked.

"Buchanan modified the hourlies so that it looked like you were working here with me during the abduction."

We were out of sight from everyone now and we stopped. Jack looked angry.

"I'm sorry but whatever Buchanan laid out, you have to stick with it," Jack said. "We need to sideline Cheng now."

"Why?" I asked. "Now that Lee Jong's incriminated himself the Chinese government isn't going to protect him."

"That isn't what this about," Jack said. "A Chinese Consult was killed during Lee's extraction. The United States government cannot be held responsible for that."

This was worse than I thought. "Jack, what are you doing? You have broken every major protocol set by DOD and CTU for what? Is any of this working?"

"You're still alive," Jack said. "Your father's still alive. And we managed to stop all the major power plants from melting down. Yeah, it's working. We have to fight to keep it working."

I hated it, but he had a point.

"Do what you have to, Audrey," he said. "I'm sorry. I've got to go."

He was right. I had to lie. I walked over to the conference room where Cheng was.

"Hello," I said. He stopped pacing.

"Ms. Raines?" he asked. "My name is Cheng Zhi. I'd just like to ask you a few questions."

He indicated to a chair and I sat down. He remained standing so he could feel like he had the upper hand.

"I am surprised that after you were kidnapped that you stayed on to work here," Cheng said. "That must have been very difficult for you."

"Well, I wasn't physically hurt and I wanted to help find the people who planned these attacks," I said. Bill had walked into the room, which made me feel a little better.

"Very admirable," Cheng said, unenthusiastically. "I looked through the hourlies for Mr. Bauer, your associate for the Defense Department. I noticed that from one AM to three AM you and he were working on some data processing tasks."

"Yes, that's correct."

"And, what analyst did you give this information to?" he asked, his stone cold eyes trying to read my thoughts.

"Edgar Styles," I replied. "Why does that matter?"

"They go through all this trouble to re-enlist a man who used to run this place, Jack Bauer. And, he's doing data processing?"

"Well it's much more subtle than it sounds," I said. "There were hundreds of lists that had to be cross referenced and with Mr. Bauer's experience, we were able to narrow the search."

"I am surprised," Cheng said.

"Why is that?"

"Meaning no disrespect, the log shows that your husband, Paul Raines, was at the clinic during the same hours. And, unfortunately he passed away," Cheng said. I tried to keep my composure.

"What's your point?" I asked.

"I don't believe you were with Jack Bauer," he said. "I think that you were waiting for your husband while in surgery and that you are lying to me now to cover for Mr. Bauer."

"Mr. Cheng," Buchanan said, stepping in. "I'm not going to allow you to stand there and accuse my people of lying."

"No, and I'm not going to stand here and endure these alibis," Cheng said.

"You can believe whatever you want," I told him. "My answers stand. Now, if we are done, I have to get back to work. If you'll excuse me."

I walked past them and went back to my desk. About five minutes later, Jack called over the COM unit.

"I'm looking at a live feed of the warhead," Jack said. "It's been mounted on a missile."

"Missile?" Tony asked. "How can that be?"

"I don't know we're trying to get the feed to you now, hold on," Jack said. The feed came up over the large screen and everybody looked over at it. The launch time was also on the screen. It was down to less than a minute. "Tony, can you see this?"

"Yeah."

"Can you get a source of the transmission?" Jack asked. Tony tried but couldn't. Everyone worked frantically to try and find it. But nobody could. The timer went down to zero and everyone watched as the missile was launched.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

4:00 AM-5:00AM

Everybody was working frantically to find the missile's trajectory. If we couldn't figure it out soon, there would be no way to evacuate the people in the region. Tony came over to me a few minutes later.

"Audrey," he said. "You got a minute?"

"Yeah sure," I said. "What is it?"

"It's about your brother, Richard," Tony said.

"Is he alright?" I asked. Something must be wrong with him. There was really no other reason for Tony to be talking to me about him.

"I assume he is, yeah," Tony said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"We just found out that Habib Marwan got a call from Richard's cell phone about a week ago," Tony said.

"I'm sorry but that's absurd," I told him. Richard was not involved with terrorists. No matter how much he and my father disagreed about everything.

"We don't know what it means yet," Tony said. "But, Buchanan is sending a team over to pick Richard up right now."

"Tony, my brother was already brought in once today and he was cleared."

"Yeah I know," Tony said. "But this call definitely connects him to Marwan and the missile."

"Look I don't know how he got mixed up in this," I said. "But, my brother is not a terrorist."

Tony nodded, not entirely convinced. "Audrey, Richard's phone number was found on the receiving end of the registry of Marwan's SIM card."

"Does my father know about this?" I asked.

"Buchanan's calling him right now."

"Alright," I said.

"I'm sorry," Tony said before walking away. I couldn't believe this. This had to be a mistake. Richard wasn't a terrorist. I just knew it. Just like I knew Paul wasn't one this morning. I tried not to think about it until I heard my brother yelling.

Two men were dragging him into CTU. Richard was yelling and trying to fight them off. I went over to him hoping to calm him down.

"Listen to me, your phone number came up on the cell phone of a terrorist, alright," I told him.

"That's what they said," Richard said, obviously scared out of his mind. I told him to calm down but Bill grabbed my arm and the men carried Richard away.

"Audrey," Bill said. "They have to get him into a holding room now."

Richard was yelling my name and I hated that I couldn't be there to protect him.

"Who's interrogating him?" I asked.

"Jack," Bill said. I could feel my heart drop in my chest. Not again. He couldn't hurt Richard. I couldn't handle it.

"What?" I asked angrily. Bill looked over to the doors where Jack and Curtis were walking in. They came towards us. And, I met them half way.

"You are not going to do this. You are not going to torture my brother," I said. Curtis left us alone.

"I don't want to hurt Richard," Jack said. It didn't matter if he didn't want to. He would. And, nothing I said was ever going to change that. "But we're out of time. He knows something. And, I'm going to find out what it is."

"And, what if he doesn't?" I asked.

"You're aware that he called Marwan. It came up on his cell phone," Jack said.

"There's got to be an explanation for that," I said. "Let me talk to him."

"You honestly believe you can interrogate your own brother?" Jack asked.

"It's because he's my brother. Maybe I can get something out of him that you can't Jack. Please just give me five minutes. Please."

"Take five minutes," Jack finally agreed.

"Thank you," I said. I turned away and headed to the interrogation room. I waited for them to prep him. I hoped that I could get Richard to tell me something. Anything that would stop Jack from hurting him.

Jack came in and asked Curtis if we were ready. Jack went over to the door and punched in some numbers on the control panel. He held the door open for me and I walked in.

"Audrey, get me out of here. Please, don't let them do anything," Richard said, having been tortured earlier this morning.

"Richard, I want you to listen to me very carefully, okay?" I said. "A nuclear warhead was launched by this man."

I showed him a picture. "Habib Marwan. Tell me what you know about him."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Richard said, crying.

"CTU has proof that you called him last week," I said. "Last Tuesday at four in the morning."

"Look, I don't know any Habib Marwan," he said. "Or anything about a missile. You've got to believe me, Audrey."

"Richard that missile is in the air right now heading towards a city. Please, Richard, just tell me what you know," I begged.

"I told you, I don't know anything," Richard insisted.

"Why'd you make that phone call last week?" I asked.

"I didn't make a phone call, Audrey," Richard said.

I started pacing. I didn't have much time left. Jack would walk in and torture him.

"Richard, it's not making sense. That call was made."

"Look, I don't know where you get your information, Audrey. But, it's all bull," Richard said.

"Richard, Richie, I am begging you to talk to me. Alright, if you don't there is a man who will come in here and get the information from you," I warned. "I saw him torture someone today. It's what he's trained to do. He won't stop hurting you until you tell him the truth. Please."

"Don't let them do this to me," Richard said.

"Tell me what you know and they won't," I told him.

"I don't know what you want from me," Richard said, crying even harder now.

"Richard, look at me. We have a chance to fix this," I said. I tried to calm him down until my father came in.

"Alright, Richard this has gone far enough. Either you tell us what we want to know or I will let them use every piece of equipment they have to drag it out of you," my father said. "You understand that?"

"Dad, don't," I said.

"Audrey, leave the room," dad said.

Richard begged me not to leave. "Dad, please."

"Now," he ordered. I didn't move. "I mean it."

"Richie, I want you to tell them everything you know, please," I begged one last time before leaving the room. I shut the door behind me and stood in front of the one-sided mirror next to Jack but not too close.

"Now what's it going to be Richard?" dad asked.

"Go to hell," Richard said. "I didn't do anything wrong. I don't have to tell you anything."

"There's a nuclear warhead that's going to detonate somewhere over this country!" dad yelled. "Those lost lives will be on your head. You will be a murderer!"

"I didn't mean to do anything wrong," Richard said. "I swear."

Oh my god. He was involved. I was wrong.

"What did you do Richard? Tell me what you did!"

"A week ago I was-I was at a bar and there was this girl and her boyfriend. Okay?" Richard started.

"Alright," dad said, obviously just as confused as I was about where this was going. "What were their names?"

"I-I don't know," Richard said. "They wanted to party and I-we went back to my place. We got high. And, then, I guess there was time for one of them to make a call on my phone."

"How?" dad asked.

"When we were in bed," Richard said.

"So, while you were in bed with her, he used your phone in the other room?" dad asked.

"He wasn't the one in the other room, dad," Richard said. "I was with him."

I was angry. Not with Richard of course. But with my father. If dad could stop giving Richard such a hard time about the way he lived his life, maybe Richard wouldn't have felt so ashamed to tell us. He would've told us what happened sooner and we would've had more time to find where the missile was heading.

"She must've been the one that made the call," Richard continued.

"So you were set up?" dad asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Richard said.

"Did they leave you with a number? Or an address?" he asked.

"No," Richard said.

"What kind of a car were they driving?" dad asked.

"They didn't have one," Richard said. "I drove."

"Where did you drop them off afterwards?"

"I didn't they took a cab."

"Do you remember the name of the cab company?"

"No, dad, I don't."

"Get in touch with every cab company in the area," Jack said to Curtis. "I want their log books. Get me a sketch artist now."

"So now you know," Richard said to dad. "I suppose you're even more disgusted with me, huh, dad?"

"This is not about how you choose to live your life, son," dad said. "This is about how you put this country in jeopardy. If you had told us this information yesterday, maybe these terrorist attacks wouldn't have occurred."

"No, don't you put that on me, dad," Richard said. "Cause yesterday I didn't know that that night had anything to do with these attacks."

"You should've told us everything," dad said. I turned to look at Jack.

"I'll be outside," Jack said.

"You made a profound mistake today, Richard," dad said, before walking out. I followed him out and we walked together.

"I'm an awful father," dad said.

"No you're not," I argued.

"Audrey, yesterday morning I found out about that you and Jack have been in a relationship for months and you didn't think you could tell me. And, now Richard tells me he's gay only because he has to. I think that makes me a pretty horrible dad."

"I'm sorry," I said. He opened the door to an office upstairs and we sat down.

"Are you okay?" he asked. I nodded uncertainly. "What happened with Paul?"

"I don't want to talk about it," I begged.

"Okay," dad said. "I'm sorry, though. I know you cared about him."

The phone rang giving me time to keep my composure. My dad answered it and hung up shortly after.

"They're setting up a remote feed," dad said. "Richard's going to help Jack identify the suspects when they get onsite."

"Then what?" I asked.

"Then they'll let him go," dad said. "His motives certainly weren't seditious."

Thank god they were letting him go. So much had already happened today. My brother getting charged with treason would not have made this day any better.

"Dad, I feel so lost," I said.

"I know, sweetheart," dad said. A woman opened the door and stuck her head in.

"Ms. Raines," the woman said.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Jack Bauer's on line two for you," the woman said.

"Thank you," I said before she left.

"You, take it sweetheart. I'll be on the floor," dad said giving me some privacy.

I picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Audrey, it's Jack," Jack said. I could hear that he was obviously on a helicopter. "I know you don't want to talk to me right now. But, there are a few things I need to say."

"Alright," I said.

"Look, I know that with everything that's happened today, you've seen me do things that before now you thought were unimaginable."

"I would have been happy to skip today," I said.

"Yeah me too," Jack said. "But the truth of it is, Audrey, I never believed you could ever love me if you'd known about everything I've done."

"Jack, I can't," I started.

"Audrey, please let me finish. These are the things I was running away from. That's why I moved to D.C. That's why I stopped doing fieldwork. That's why I don't work at CTU."

Sure seemed like he did. "All I know is, you're back in it. And, it's too much for me, Jack."

"I know," Jack said. "I know. The last thing I ever wanted to do was push you away from me. God, Audrey, I love you. But, this is how the job has to be done. I just want you to know how sorry I am that it had to involve you and the people you care about."

I didn't say anything. What could I say? I loved him so much but there was no way this would ever work between us now.

"Look, you don't have to say anything now," Jack said. "Please, just promise me that as soon as this is over we can talk about everything that's happened."

I was starting to cry. "Audrey, please."

Someone in the background said his name meaning that he had to leave. "I gotta call you back later, okay?"

"Alright," I said. We hung up. There was nothing Jack could say that could erase the memory of him torturing Paul. Or the memory of him holding Dr. Besson at gunpoint and letting Paul die.

When I finally made my way downstairs I heard Jack over the intercom saying that one agent was dead and that another one was missing. It wasn't until he repeated himself that I found out it was Tony who was missing and possibly taken hostage. I looked over at Michelle who looked mortified.

It's strange how much things can change over one day. Yesterday I never would have guessed that Michelle and Tony would get back together and that Jack and I would be falling apart. How could this be happening?


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

5:00AM-6:00AM

My phone rang and I was put through to Mike Novick at the White House. I was still working on finding out where the missile was going to hit and he wanted an update.

"We've almost completed our second satellite pass over the current flight radius of the missile," I told him.

"And, no sight of it yet," he said.

"No, not so far," I said.

"What do you think our realistic chances are of being able to locate the missile with subsequent passes?" Mike asked.

"I don't think they're very good," I admitted. "This missile's an S class. It uses elements of stealth technology. It was designed to evade detection."

"I'm aware of that but it would still have a heat sensor," Mike said.

"Yes, but the lower the missile flies to the ground the harder it is to pick up," I told him.

"How much longer until you complete the second satellite pass?" he asked.

"Less than twenty minutes," I said.

"Get back to me as soon as you have the results," he said.

"Alright," I said, before hanging up. I waited for the reports wishing it could get done faster. I called Mike back as soon as I got them.

"Mike, it's Audrey Raines."

"Yes, Audrey, what have you got?" he asked.

"Well, the second satellite pass is complete. We were unable to detect the missile with thermal imaging. There's just too much radial heat from ground sources."

"Ms. Raines," said a familiar voice. "This is President Palmer. Is there a chance that another satellite pass will find this missile?"

"Well, the more data we have Mr. President the better," I said. "But a more intensive pass will take two to three hours."

"And, we expect the missile to find its target before then," Palmer said.

"Yes sir we do," I said.

"Alright," Palmer said, obviously disappointed. "Make sure FBI's on a real time link with all local emergency channels."

"Alright, I'll get that done right now," I said, leaning over the computer.

"I also want you to compile disaster scenarios for the urban centers within range of the missile," Palmer said. I looked up at the map on the television screen, which showed potential target of the missile.

"Sir, that's twenty of the largest cities in this country," I told him.

"I'm aware of that," he said. "I want death rates, fallout patterns, emergency response predictions laid out for all of them."

"Yes sir. I'll take care of that right now," I said. He thanked me before hanging up. I got working right away. I started with the largest cities in population. Even if the missile hit the smallest of all these cities, the number of casualties was too much to even imagine. I sent the numbers to the White House and went back to trying to find the path of the missile.

There was no use. Even if we could find out where it was going to strike, there was no way to evacuate everyone in time.

A few minutes later, I heard that there was still hope. Jack had found Tony and his captor. Meaning we had one last shot of finding out where the missile was going and possibly stopping it.

Jack was good at this job. There was no denying it. He belonged here, not behind a desk doing paperwork and sitting through long tedious meetings. There was no doubt in my mind that Jack would be offered his job back after everything he had done for them. I wondered if he would take it. And that's when I realized he would have to. Without him working here, people would die. Lots of people. But, I had no place here. And as much as it killed me, it wasn't possible for us to work things out.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

6:00AM-7:00AM

When Marwan was found with the help of the woman who had kidnapped Tony, forensics also found his PDA that Chloe and Edgar decrypted. The missile was heading for Los Angeles. Wasting no time, a plane was sent into the air to shoot down the missile before it could explode.

It was finally over. I relaxed a little bit and couldn't wait to go home. My friend, Sarah, from DOD called and asked about flights and whether I had gotten the paperwork she sent and when I'd be back.

"Flights are still grounded," I said. "I'm trying to get Paul back on a military transport."

"Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you," Sarah said.

"I haven't taken care of his funeral arrangements yet," I said. "I still need to call his mother."

"Oh she doesn't know?" Sarah asked. Sarah said something else but I was no longer listening. Jack was outside the door, looking in at me wondering whether or not he should come in. I told Sarah I'd call her back and went out to where Jack was.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," I said, not prepared for what was coming. I walked over to him, my arms crossed. How could I do this?

"Your father said you're going to Washington tomorrow," Jack said.

"Yeah I have to take care of Paul's funeral," I said.

"Yeah," Jack said, obviously feeling guilty for what happened. Not that it changed anything. "And after that?"

I didn't answer. How could I say that I didn't want to be with him when I so desperately did?

"I'm sorry," Jack said. "I know this isn't the right time to talk about everything. Maybe tomorrow before you catch your flight we could get together."

"Jack, I don't think that's a good idea," I said. The look on Jack's face broke my heart.

"I thought we agreed we wouldn't make those kinds of decisions today," Jack said.

"I know but I just-" I started, not knowing what I could possibly say to make him understand.

"Audrey," Jack said stepping closer to me. "I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. That's all I want."

I fought back tears that threatened to fall and held onto Jack's shirt wanting to know what it was like to touch him one last time.

"We both know that you belong here, Jack," I said. "At CTU. Doing what you do best. And, thank God that there are people like you who can deal with that world."

I put my forehead against his never wanting to move away.

"But, I can't," I told him.

"Please don't say that," Jack begged.

"Jack," I said, putting my hands on his face and shoulder never wanting to let him go. I was crying now. "Oh Jack. I love you. But, after today, it's just-it won't work."

I kissed him one last time. And apologized when I pulled away. I forced myself to leave the room, knowing that Jack's heart was just as broken as mine. I went to the bathroom and wiped away my tears before going back out to the floor where some unfinished paperwork had to be done.

My phone rang a few minutes later. It was my father.

"Hey Audie," he said. "You okay?"

"I guess," I said. I couldn't help but think I had just made a huge mistake by breaking up with Jack. Not that my dad knew anything about that.

"You haven't heard about Jack yet, have you?" he said.

"What about him?" I asked.

"He's being handed over to the Chinese government," dad said. My father kept talking but I stopped listening. I was worried about him. What would happen to him? Would I ever see him again?

"Audrey?" my dad said after a minute to make sure I was still there.

"I'm here," I said. "I have to go."

I hung up quickly and found Bill.

"Bill," I said. "I just talked to my father. He said Jack is being handed over to the Chinese government?"

"He was supposed to be," Bill said, sadly. "But he-he tried to escape."

"I don't understand," I said.

"Neither do I," Bill said. Jack tried to escape. And, now….

I finally got it. Jack was dead. I felt my heart drop.

"No," I said, begging Bill to tell me it wasn't true.

Bill tried to talk again but his face said it all.

"No don't say it," I said. "No."

I started to walk back down the hall trying to deny it and trying not to cry.

"I'm sorry," Bill said when I was half way down the hall. I stopped. I was paralyzed. I couldn't walk. I couldn't breath. My throat clenched up. I reached for the wall and leaned up against it letting the folder in my hands drop to the floor. I was crying now as the rush memories came back to me especially the awful way I treated him today. How he died thinking I hated him when in reality I loved him more than I could possibly describe. Jack was dead. And, I might as well be.


End file.
